


Pack Immersion: The How to by Stiles Stilinski

by Jollyrancher1114



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Stiles Stilinski, Alternate Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Stiles, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Deucalion is Stiles dad, Emissary Stiles Stilinski, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good Kate Argent, Hale Family Feels, Humor, M/M, Mage Stiles Stilinski, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Mind the Tags, Misunderstandings, Not Beta Read, Oblivious Stiles Stilinski, Past Child Death, Past major character death (original character), Shapeshifter Stiles, Stiles Stilinski Is Bad at Feelings, Stiles Stilinski is a Little Shit, Stiles has a coven, Stiles is grieving, Stiles is part of the alpha pack, Stiles wasn't born in Beacon Hills, Will be editing soon, brief mention of attempted suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:08:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 66,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21787273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jollyrancher1114/pseuds/Jollyrancher1114
Summary: An AU where Kate didn't set fire to the Hale house and was framed when she tried to save them.  Stiles and his pack find her trying to commit suicide and saves her. Kate becomes part of the Alpha Pack.Oh, thank God. Stiles runs towards the bulking frame ahead of him, yipping in excitement as he throws himself onto the sturdy chest. Aiden growls beneath him, shoving his snout away from his neck. Brooke giggles off to the side and Stiles throws a wink towards her.“Stiles. What the hell are you doing here?” Aiden hissed. Stiles huffs and raises an eyebrow as best as he can in his fox shift. Someone coughs off to the side and Stiles stiffens when he scents the foreign werewolves. Turning around, he bares his teeth at them only for it to be cut off into a whine when Aiden cuffs his head.“Why don’t we bring this back to the house? I’m sure my alpha will find this… interesting.” The woman says. The man next to her bores his eyes into him. Stiles shifts uneasily, licking Aiden’s cheek when he picks him up and purposely ignoring the growl that follows. Only then does he see the pendant with a triskele sticking out from the woman’s shirt.Fuck.
Relationships: Aiden (Teen Wolf)/Original Female Character(s), Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Cora Hale/Isaac Lahey, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Ennis/Kali (Teen Wolf), Ethan/Danny Mahealani, Kate Argent/Original Male Character(s), Laura Hale/Jordan Parrish, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Peter Hale/Original Female Character(s), Stiles Stilinski & Original Character(s), Stiles Stilinski/Original Female Character(s), Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes
Comments: 53
Kudos: 454





	1. Prologue

Oh, thank God. Stiles runs towards the bulking frame ahead of him, yipping in excitement as he throws himself onto the sturdy chest. Aiden growls beneath him, shoving his snout away from his neck. Brooke giggles off to the side and Stiles throws a wink towards her.  


“Stiles. What the hell are you doing here?” Aiden hissed. Stiles huffs and raises an eyebrow as best as he can in his fox shift. Someone coughs off to the side and Stiles stiffens when he scents the foreign werewolves. Turning around, he bares his teeth at them only for it to be cut off into a whine when Aiden cuffs his head.  


“Why don’t we bring this back to the house? I’m sure my alpha will find this… interesting.” The woman says. The man next to her bores his eyes into him. Stiles shifts uneasily, licking Aiden’s cheek when he picks him up and purposely ignoring the growl that follows. Only then does he see the pendant with a triskele sticking out from the woman’s shirt. Fuck.

The walk to the house is uncomfortable, to say the least. Stiles tries to avoid eye contact with Mr. Growly but it doesn’t exactly help that the wolf apparently has no problem looking at him. Aiden had handed him to Brooke and he was steadily melting as she ran her fingers through his fur. Brooke was his second for the coven, and witnessing how calmly she was handling this hiccup just proved to him that he chose the right person.  


A clap startled him and he flicked his tail in annoyance as Aiden snickered.  


“So. A werefox? I have to admit, I thought they went extinct ages ago.” The woman chirps. He feels Aiden shift closer to them and wraps his tail around his arm in comfort. 

They had way too many close calls with hunters who wanted Stiles’ fur as their newest doormat. Luckily, their own hunters were far more advanced and skilled. Not to mention Stiles could take care of himself. Obviously.  


“I’m not in the position to answer any questions at the moment, and neither is Brooke. You’ll have to ask this nitwit when he can shift in private.” Aiden grumbles. The woman’s eyebrows lift and Stiles finds it fascinating how Mr. Broodington does the opposite, furrowing together to meet in the middle in a decidedly not fashionable manner.  


"What do you mean? I thought you were all betas? Except Brooke, of course. You’re obviously the emissary.” Laura grins at Brooke as her hand stutters in his fur. He snorts along with Aiden and they share their amusement through their pack bond.  


“She wishes. Our emissary is a lot more… intense? Memorable? Enthusiastic? Pick your choice, but she’s definitely not our emissary. She is, however, under his guidance so she knows a few trade secrets.” Brooke straightened her back and smirked at him.  


“Damn right I do. And Stiles is one of a kind, nobody could replace him. We’d know in a heartbeat if it wasn’t our boy.” Laura’s eyes narrowed as she gazed at him inquisitively. Stiles puffed up, releasing a little of his contained energy as he looked her up and down. To his surprise, the man snarled and reached towards him. Aiden was in front of Brooke and himself instantly, growling a low warning as the woman held him back with widened eyes. Glancing back and forth between them, her lips tightened into a thin smile.  


“Keep your brother in check, Laura. I won’t hesitate to protect my pack.” Aiden snarled as he straightened. “We’ll meet you at the house. You guys need to cool off.” The woman, Laura, glared at him but gave a curt nod. Brooke led the way with Aiden following, and Stiles was torn between teasing the shit out of Aiden later or coming up with escape plans. A loud growl echoed behind them and his spine tensed. 

Both. Definitely both.


	2. Speed Bump

Stiles stared around the room from his place in Aiden’s lap. Brooke was still running her hand through his fur, picking out the occasional twig or leaf. Alpha Hale had raised an eyebrow when they first entered, but gestured towards the living room anyway. The whole pack was there, including Big and Growly and Laura. Stiles had told Brooke to wait before they found a seat. No way was he sitting next to that, despite what his libido wanted. 

After analyzing the pack, he determined it was made up of eleven wolves, two hunters, a hell hound, banshee, and untrained seer. He was pleased that their pack was all inclusive, too many alphas were still traditional and left other species out on their own. He made a mental note to discuss that with his father later. 

“Brooke, Aiden. I see you’ve brought a friend with you.” Alpha Hale hinted lightly. Aiden stiffened slightly and Brooke’s hand faltered for a brief moment. 

_Ethan is here, right?_ Stiles asked Brooke through their telepathic bond.

_Yeah, he’s passed out right now. He and Aiden were sparring and he got distracted by the seer._

Stiles snorted, catching the attention of Big Bad again. _Typical. Wake him up and tell him to bring me some clothes so I can explain. The last thing we need is miscommunication when our goal is an alliance._

_Got it._

“- is Stiles. I don’t know what the hell he’s doing here, so he’ll have to explain to both of us in a minute. Ethan should be down with clothes for him any minute now.”

Alpha Hale nodded her acceptance and crossed her legs.

Ethan rounded the corner with a beam, practically running over to the couch they occupied. 

“Stiles! Oh man, it’s so cool that you’re here! I thought you were training with the H-unit today?” He took Stiles from his brothers grasp and sat down between Aiden and Brooke.  
Stiles licked his nose happily. _Oh, Ethan. Never stop being you. You’re the only one who gets excited to see me anymore._

“Dude, let him change. He probably has something to tell us if he abandoned post back home.” Brooke rolled her eyes. 

“Heh. Right.” Stiles rubbed against Ethan’s chest in thanks as he handed him a hoodie and jeans. Making his way behind the couch as to cover his lower body, he shifted. 

“S’good. Ethan’s the only one who appreciates me anymore, without him I’d probably be touch starved.” Stiles sniffed mockingly towards Brooke. Tugging on the pants and throwing the hoodie on, he made his way over to his pack and sat between Brooke and Ethan. Big Bad was staring at him with his mouth slightly agape, but Stiles was used to that. They weren’t the only pack who thought werefoxes were extinct. 

“Alpha Hale, my name is Stiles. I’m the emissary for the Alpha Pack and wish to give my gratitude for letting my pack enter and reside in your territory while I was away.” 

Alpha Hale smiled warmly, shaking her head.

“No need to thank us, Stiles. It’s been a pleasure to have some of your members with us. They keep us on our toes, that’s for sure.” She glanced at Danny and Ethan as she said the last part and Stiles grinned. 

“Yes, I see that Ethan has become quite taken with your seer.” He snickered as Ethan growled playfully, rubbing his hair affectionately until he noticed how the opposing pack had tensed. 

“Excuse me?” Alpha Hale asked carefully. 

“Oh, no need to worry. It’s part of my magic. It alerts me to all the species I come into contact with. I must say, Alpha Hale, you don’t run a traditional pack and I love it. Too many Alpha’s turn away those in need.” She relaxed a bit and Stiles blew a mental sigh of relief. That had been close.

“Yes, well. I agree with you on that front. I must say that I am curious, though. You’re a mage and a shifter?”

“Yup,” Stiles announced proudly. “Fifty fifty. My mom was a mage and my dad’s a were.”

“I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Stiles is an anomaly. S’just how he is.” Aiden shrugged.

“I see.” Alpha Hale nodded. “Well, if you don’t mind I do have a couple questions I’d like to ask.”

“Sure! I’ll answer the best I can.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but where did you come from? Usually the emissaries guide their pack to the location of the other one.”

“Heh, funny story on that one.” Stiles rubbed the back of his neck and nudged the pack bonds playfully when they tensed around him. “I sort of got teleported here? I was helping a pack mate with their magic and he kinda said the wrong translation and boom! Here I am. I was actually supposed to help out with training today, but I suppose I could supervise the twins for you. They can be a handful.”

“I resent that.” Aiden grumbled under his breath.

“That’s different than what I was expecting.” Alpha Hale admitted with a grin.

“Excuse the interruption, Alpha Hale-”

“Talia, please.” She cut off.

“Right, Talia. My apologies but I have to make a call. You can imagine the kind of trouble my pack will get themselves into when I suddenly disappear like that.” 

“I don’t think I want to.” The blonde wolf sitting on the lap of her mate mumbled. The man was large, dark skin bringing out the white of his fond smile towards her.

“It’ll be quick, I hope.” Brooke already had her phone out and he dialed Kate’s number since she was who he was working with.

It rang twice before she frantically picked up.

“Brooke! Have you seen Stiles? He just up and left and I don’t know if it was the Darach again or if he’s playing but our flag is about to be stolen and-”

“Calm down, Katie. I’m right here.” Stiles murmured soothingly. Until the last part registered. His hand tightened around the phone and he stood up. “What the hell do you mean we almost lost the flag! Dammit, Kate! I will not be on laundry duty again, I refuse!”

“It wouldn’t be my damn fault, Stiles! You’re the one who was guarding it! And they sent Kali after it, you know I can’t attack her when she’s carrying pups!” 

“Fucking Ennis and his fucking brain.” Stiles growled. Hearing someone snicker, he kicked Aiden’s foot and stuck his tongue out at him.

“For real, where are you? We paused the game when we realized you were gone.”

“Funny story, actually. I’m with Brooke and the twins.”

“Why, exactly, are you with them?” She asked through clenched teeth. 

“‘Cause Thomas teleported me. He was playing double and I didn’t know. So here I am.”

He could practically hear the eye roll from here and sat back down, smiling sheepishly at Talia’s amused expression. 

“Fine. When are you coming back? You know I can’t train these people without you. I have no patience for that.”

“Ah, Miss Argent, you _do_ need me.” He hummed smugly. Echoing growls resounded through the room and he dropped the phone, immediately stepping in front of his pack as Brooke quickly surrounded their couch in mountain ash. Stiles added his magic into it so that it blocked out everyone on the outside, including those who weren’t werewolves.

“You know Kate Argent?” Laura snarled, toe to toe with the ash line. 

Stiles stood straighter and puffed out his chest, electricity dancing between his fingers in case he needed to act.

“Kate Argent is a member of the Alpha Pack and one of my dear friends. I suggest we all calm down before this is made into a bigger deal than it needs to be. Alpha Hale, the decision is entirely up to you.” 

Talia stared at him impassively, although he could feel the storm of emotions brewing under. Big Bad was pacing along the walls, alternating between growling at his pack behind him and staring at him with big, pleading eyes when they made eye contact. 

“Laura, stand down. Everybody else, also.” Talia flashed her eyes when Laura protested and made a show of sitting on her chair, although she was at the very edge and her spine was ramrod straight.

“Stiles. I called off my pack. I’d appreciate you do the same with yours so we can talk.”

“Of course, Alpha Hale. I’ll make sure to do that once you call off your second who is currently under a glamour behind me. It seems I underestimated your seer after all.” She looked shocked and mildly impressed for a moment before closing off again.

“Peter. Enough.” He emerged from behind the couch, still in his beta shift and glaring at them hatefully. As soon as he sat down, Stiles called off his magic.

“Ethan, Aiden. Enough. Brooke, you can sit.”

_Don’t even think of moving the mountain ash. _He told her firmly.__

___I know. What’s going on? I haven’t seen them act anything close to this in the time we've been here._ __

____

__

__Stiles ignored her and reclaimed his seat._ _

__“I suggest we bring my Alpha into this. I’m not allowed to make any executive decisions without his input.”_ _

__“Very well. I request that he show up for a face to face meeting. I also ask he bring along Kate Argent.” Talia’s tone implied that she wasn’t asking at all._ _

__“If you give me your word that no harm will come to her or any other member of my pack, I’ll be inclined to agree.” Stiles told her bluntly, making sure to keep eye contact._ _

__“Agreed. I’ll expect the same treatment to my own as well.”_ _

__“That goes without saying.” Stiles affirmed with a curt nod._ _

__Picking up the phone, he placed it to his ear and cut off Kate’s frantic questions._ _

__“Kate. Put my dad on the phone. There’s a… hiccup in our plans.”_ _

__“Hiccup? What’s that supposed to mean, Stiles.” He noticed how some of the wolves either flinched or bared their teeth at her voice. _What the hell had happened between them?__ _

__“Kate!” He barked. She grew silent, and he could hear her telling Kali what was going on before Deucalion reached them._ _

__“Stiles,” He greeted pleasantly. “There’s a hiccup, you say?”_ _

__Stiles eyed the wolves, all beta shifted, and how the hunters were gripping their knives looking decidedly more pale than a few minutes ago._ _

__“Yeah, that may be more of a speed bump.” Stiles managed. It was silent for a few moments and he knew that Caitlynn was asking permission to see what he was, could feel her magic interacting with his. He granted it eagerly, needing his dad’s opinion. His muttered curse seconds after wasn’t too comforting.  
“I’m on my way. Alert Alpha Hale that the whole pack will be accompanying me.” _ _

__“Be careful.” Stiles responded fiercely. Deucalion chuckled darkly._ _

__“I’m not the one in danger, Stiles.”_ _

__He hung up with a resounding click, and tossed the phone to Brooke._ _

__“My Alpha is on his way. I’m sure you heard that my pack will be joining us.”_ _

__“And Kate Argent is a part of your pack.” Talia confirmed with a hint of hostility. Stiles nodded his head firmly._ _

__“Yes, Kate is a valued member.” He ignored how the betas scoffed or growled and how Big Bad gave a high pitched whiny growl mixture until Laura cuffed his head to snap him out of it._ _

__“Then we wait.” Talia responded and unlike last time, her tone gave nothing away nor did her face._ _

__Stiles hoped his dad would make it._ _

__Sooner rather than later._ _


	3. Talia's Suggestion

There’s a pause in the room as they scrutinize each other. Stiles had peeked into Brooke’s memories and had memorized all of their names along with their species as soon as he was sure they wouldn’t be attacked while he was under. He was somewhat smug he had guessed all of them right. He didn’t care what Ennis and Marcus told him, his game was going strong. 

Getting tired of the silence, Stiles leaned against the couch and rolled his neck until he was facing Ethan.

“Hey.” Stiles grinned at him. Ethan was like a little brother to him and he loved him with everything he had. He was the one who had found the two wolves. What started as a game of hide and seek with his father had quickly turned into what he liked to call the ‘Heroics of Stiles: Part One’ incident. They had been shifted in their beta form, which still weirded out Stiles to this day. The twins had been running from their abusive pack when they had got caught in a bear traps, a total of five that were scattered around their upper and lower body. 

Stiles had run straight for them, ignoring his dad’s barked orders and enveloping his magic around him to form an impenetrable layer of skin. While he worked to get them out, the twins had tried everything they could to get him off, attempting to dig their claws into him and steadily progressing to kicks and punches when they realized what he had done. Thankfully, his dad had got them to submit and Stiles was able to save the day. 

Ethan snorted at his attempt of conversation and smirked at his mock cry of outrage. He could feel his pack settle down somewhat when they saw he wasn’t too concerned with the potential threat. _Good._

“When we get back home, I challenge you to-”

“You’re gonna lose, man. Again.” Aiden snarked, leaning around Ethan to smirk at him.

“Excuse me, I’ll have you know that I’ve been practicing with Marcus. I’m basically pro now, doesn’t matter what you say.”

Aiden kneeled on the couch and gaped at him.

“No way! He never participates in our prank wars! How’d you get him to join _your_ team?”

“He’s always had a soft spot for Stiles, you know.” Brooke chimes in with a grin as she tosses an arm around his shoulders. 

“And my team always wins. You should know not to go against us.”

“That’s ‘cause you get Dallas and Kate-” He was cut off as the Hale Pack grumbled and growled in a low murmur. Stiles sighed. _So close._

“So we can’t even say her name in front of you guys? What are you, pups?” Aiden asks them. Talia flashes her eyes and Stiles is marginally proud and pissed in equal measure as Aiden rolls his eyes. Yeah, it’s good to be able to resist but damn. If he wasn’t with them he was sure the wolf would’ve been dead a long time ago.

“Aiden, chill. They’ll be here soon.” Stiles rubs their bond comfortingly and smiles in assurance when he sighs and reclines.

Just then, Stiles’ spark twists and writhes under his skin as he senses the rest of his family. Talia stands at the same time he does and they take a moment to study one another before he breaks the silence.

“Alpha Hale. My pack and alpha are currently on the edges of your territory. Do you grant them access?” 

“It was my request they come. Of course.” Unable to help the beam from appearing on his face, Stiles makes sure the ash circle follows his pack mates outside as he advances towards his father. 

Deucalion hugs him as soon as they’re face to face and Stiles isn’t ashamed to say he relaxes as soon as the familiar scent reaches his nose. Deucalion releases him, making sure to rub his wrist against his neck before it’s completely gone.

He sees Marcus on the side of him and gives him a quick pat on the back before searching for Kate. He sees her with the other hunters. Jason, Charles and Austin to her left while Anya has an arm thrown around her on the right side. He sees that she’s wearing Marcus’ shirt and rolls his eyes fondly. For all Marcus is as his dad’s second in command, his utmost priority is -and always will be- making sure his mate feels secure. 

Stiles pulls her into a hug as soon as he reaches her, glaring at Derek when he, surprise surprise, growled. Wow, what an unexpected occurrence. Stiles rolled his eyes at him and made sure the were had seen it before he ran his eyes across her face. 

“You okay?” He asked her softly.

Stiles knew what had happened, of course he did. He was the one who had talked her down from shooting her brains out, after all. He knew all about how her father was a lowlife piece of shit who framed her when Kate didn’t believe in his plans. How he found himself an unstable shifter and promised him sanctuary and love in return of doing him a favor. The spell Gerard had placed on the shifter to seduce an underaged, bright high school student. How he had took her form after she retreated to their hometown back in Willowsville and burned down a house full of werewolves and humans with the shifter by his side. He just didn’t know _who_ the damn bastard had targeted or why Kate was so standoffish when she was usually one of the brightest people he knew. He just didn’t understand why the Hales knew when- oh.

He glanced back at the Pack, seeing how most of them were beta shifted and how Talia was holding Peter back, all the while glaring at Kate coldly. The two hunters were staring at her with wide eyes and clenched jaws.

 _Oh, shit._ Stiles placed himself in front of Kate, cutting of the piercing eyes that tried to intimidate her. She was already shaking, looking down to hide her water filled eyes and quivering chin. In that moment, Stiles hated the Hales. How dare they act like they know everything? How dare they treat a member of his pack, his _sister_ like she was worth no more than a piece of gum they had accidentally stepped on. 

He took a step towards them, feeling his magic rage as it sparked around his frame. Just as he laid eyes on Talia, Kate gripped his arm lightly and placed her forehead between his shoulder blades.

He paused.

“Don’t. Please, I don’t- I can’t lose you. Not you, too.” She whispered. Stiles projected everything he was feeling towards the Hales, smiling in grim satisfaction when Talia stood straighter and Derek let loose a high pitched whine. Peter had stepped back, holding onto Cora’s hand tightly as he stared at them. 

“Stiles.” Snapping his head towards his father, he huffed at the raised eyebrow. That was his ‘Don’t play around, this is serious’ message.

“C’mon, Katie. I got you.” _Unlike your blood relatives who didn’t even question your innocence. You’re better with us, anyway. Screw them._ He thought venomously. Guiding her towards the other hunters and his coven, he gripped her hand tightly. 

He didn’t reply to the mumbled thanks she mumbled softly. 

Once he reclaimed his spot by Dallas, the only other shifter who had free will of what she wanted her shape to be, he let out a bark of surprised laughter at what she pulled out. 

“I thought you’d need these.” She grinned, waving his briefs in one hand and his phone in the other. He grabbed his phone, lips curving further to the right at her head tilt.

“You can keep the briefs.” He winked playfully and chuckled when she shoved him with a smile.

“I’m glad you’re okay. We were all worried when you didn’t respond. All we heard was the growls and stuff.”

“I’m fine. But Thomas is gonna get it later, that was a cheap move.” Said boy looked over at him, grinning as he flipped him the bird. Dallas nodded her assent, and that was that. He realized his father was waiting for him to finish before speaking up. He belatedly noticed that Dallas had tossed his briefs over her shoulder and stumbled as he reached out to put them behind his back, ignoring the snickers and torn amusement from both packs.

“You’re the worst.” He grumbled as he made them disappear back into his dresser at home. 

“Dumbass.” Kate smirked. Stiles beamed back. She was coming around.

“Alpha Hale.” Deucalion called everyone’s attention back to order. “My emissary has informed me there was a problem.” Talia looked between Kate, himself, his dad, and Derek a couple times before she cleared her throat. 

“Yes. We weren’t aware that… _Kate_ was a part of your pack.”

“I didn’t think it would be a problem. Kate is loyal, strong, and an invaluable part of my pack and we care for her deeply.” He told her sternly. Talia narrowed her eyes as she mulled over it.

“You’re aware she has burned down my house and killed my husband, my mate, along with the rest of my pack. She has killed humans, Deucalion.”

“You’re wrong!” Stiles snapped. All heads turned to him and he held his ground until his father gave him the ‘I’m not going to tell you twice, you best knock it off’ look. Biting his tongue, he gripped Kate tighter as he heard her swallow.

“You’re wrong.” Stiles’ jaw dropped as he regarded his father, amusement and betrayal warring for the prominent feeling.

“As your emissary has said.” Stiles narrowed his eyes at Talia, reluctantly admitting to the smudge of respect he felt towards her as she met his eyes and smiled.

“Yes, well. I would apologize but that’s just how he is.” His dad rolled his eyes fondly and sighed in mock disappointment before leveling all the Hales with an unwavering stare.

“Kate Argent didn’t start, nor have any part in the fire that took your pack’s lives. She was with us when the headlines came out and has been with us since.” The opposing pack frowned in confusion.

“You’re not lying.” Talia spoke up, seemingly baffled.

“Of course I’m not lying. What do you take me for?” Deucalion huffed. “I suggest we sort this out before anyone leaves. Preferably before midnight, since my pack has training to do.”

“I agree. Derek, would you please help your sisters set up the sun room? The extra chairs are in the closet.” He threw her a grateful look as he followed his siblings, getting a couple pats on the back as he left.

 _So he’s the one who was seduced._ Stiles determined. It made sense, it a twisted sort of way. Derek Hale, son of the prosperous Talia and captain of nearly all the sports teams in Beacon Hills. According to the papers he had read, anyway. A perfect target for Gerard. His mind began to buzz as theories lit up one by one, how Gerard could’ve snagged the shifter, hypnotizing them, molding his very own killer. All while placing the blame on his daughter. 

Stiles was glad he’s dead, that’s for sure.

He didn’t realize they had moved until Kate had pushed him into a chair, claiming the one beside him and Marcus instantly. They watched together as the chairs on the opposite side filled in. 

“So Kate didn’t start the fire, nor did she seduce and rape my son.” Talia stated bluntly. Stiles gaped at her. _Well, that’s one way to start a meeting._

“No. Her father had been trying to get her to do it but Kate was strongly against them. She followed them on the night of the fire and was framed when the shifter Gerard was working with sent photos of her trying to pull out the children to the police. Nobody questioned it, seeing as how she had been spotted with an underaged boy at the time. Gerard had set up a solid plan. She was forced to leave Beacon Hills and that’s when Stiles found her, filthy from hiding in the woods and a gun barrel to her temple.” Deucalion told them steadily. 

Stiles let his magic run into Kate’s palm, smiling when she relaxed beside him. Marcus nodded his thanks as he rubbed her back. 

Talia eyed them and sighed as she slumped into her hands.

“What a mess,” She mumbled. Raising her head after a moment, she glanced at Kate and softened slightly at the poorly hidden caution and hesitancy that poured off of her in waves. From what she had seen from their pack and emissary so far, they were all good judges of characters. Especially Aiden, the picky brat. Recalling the past few days and going over what she now knew was the truth, she nodded. 

“You have proof of her innocence, you said?”

“We do. Stiles had made an entire file on the case and sent it to the police department anonymously. That’s why she’s no longer being hunted.” Deucalion affirmed.

“Alright. Kate,” Talia noticed how the woman stiffened along with the warning glare Stiles sent her. He was very protective, that one. “Kate, I’d like to apologize on behalf of my pack and myself on how we treated you.”

Kate’s eyes widened as she looked at Talia. Noticing Chris and Allison, she briefly looked at them to gage their reaction. Not that it helped, they were always good at playing poker. She didn’t know why she expected anything different from them. 

Refocusing on Talia, she noticed how Peter had relaxed and pinpointed the cause on the short woman who was now holding his hand and muttering into his neck.

“It’s okay. I didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms and gift baskets, after all.” She grinned wryly. 

“Our mistake.” Talia chuckled somewhat awkwardly. “Deucalion, if you’d feel comfortable with it, I’d be more than happy to keep housing your pack. With one request, of course.”

Deucalion waved his hand, gazing curiously at her. 

“If Stiles were inclined to agree, I’d like to extend the invitation to him as well so he would be able to stay the rest of Aiden, Ethan, and Brooke’s visit with our pack. After the week is up, we’d have him pick three more pack mates of his as a way to get to know one another in small portions. Of course, we’d also send some of our members to your house if we come to an agreement. Fair’s fair, after all.”

Stiles stared at her incredulously. _How the fuck did I get into this?_ Snapping his head to look at his father, his eyes widened when he saw that he was actually thinking about it.

Turning to Brooke, he was about to tell her… something, when he saw the joyous grin on her face. _Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no._ Shaking his head wildly, he stood to protest when Aiden popped up behind him and shoved him down by the shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I know that this work isn't my best and the format is kinda sloppy, but with classes and work I don't have as much time as I'd like to just to edit. Honestly I have no idea where this story is headed so I guess we'll find out together. If you have any suggestions or feedback, drop a comment and I'll be sure to take a peek!


	4. Introductions and Arrangements

“Stiles would be honored to accept, Talia.” He told her with a wicked grin. “After all, not only is his second here, but also Ethan and I. You wouldn’t want to upset your best friend, would you?” Stiles glared at him, allowing his spark to send a small current through his hands. Aiden yelped, staggering backwards and shaking his hands off with a grumble and long face. 

“You’re not seriously thinking about this.” Stiles eyed his old man warily. His dad cocked his head, smile a little too pleasant and the vibes around him radiating innocence.

“I don’t know, Stiles. It seems like a good idea. Getting to know one another in a group setting like this.”

Stiles opened and closed his mouth, staring at him with pleading eyes.

“I have to train my unit.” More like supervise while they try to turn each other into frogs.

“I’m sure they’d appreciate some down time to read those books you piled on them.”

“Books?” Stiles repeated incredulously. “Those aren’t just _books_ , those are priceless masterpieces that gods and goddesses blessed us undeserving low lives with! They are my babies and my coven should be honored and humbled that I trust them enough to even be in their presence!” He took a breath, ready to inform his ignorant pack mates more when Dallas cut him off.

“Now you did it. Good going, _Alpha_.” She teased mockingly. Deucalion growled playfully and kicked her chair back.

“Coven? You mean like, witches and stuff?” Isaac asked curiously. Stiles studied him. For all he seemed hesitant to engage someone in a conversation, he didn’t do too bad with keeping eye contact for long periods of time. 

“Duh. I’m a mage, of course I’d have my own coven. Didn’t we do introductions?” Stiles asked his pack with furrowed brows. A number of them shook their heads while others matched his bewilderment.

“I thought we did,” Ellen pitched in from behind him. “But now that I think about it we kind of just charged in here and started posturing.” 

“Huh. Well, no time like the present! My name is-” Fingers pinched his side and the squawk that escaped him was _extremely_ manly, shut up Aiden.

“Something they already know, nimrod.”

“You must like being shocked, huh? Is that the masochism coming out or just your usual idiocy?” He challenged through narrowed eyes. 

“Big word, Stiles. You didn’t think too hard, did you?” He glowered back.

“Please, you know I’m the reason we have all those bestiaries and notes. Not to mention the research that saved everyone’s lives, including your dumb ass for years.” 

Aiden scoffed, and Marcus took that chance to cut in.

“Children, we’re kind of in the middle of something.” He reminded dryly. Kate giggled beside him, mouthing a ‘Good one’ towards him.

“Right. Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted,” Tossing a scowl towards his friend, he regained his poise and stood straighter. “My name is Stiles Stilinski, free-lance shifter, mage, emissary to the Alpha Pack and son of Deucalion.” 

“Son?” Talia blurted, flushing slightly afterwards while still radiating elegance. 

“Yeah, we get that a lot. Anyway, Let me introduce our units. First is mine, the C-Unit.” Ellen, Dallas, Thomas, Caitlynn and Brooke all waved. “Ellen is our kanima, Dallas a shifter like yours truly, and the rest are sparks under my tutelage.” Efren coughed pointedly in the corner and Stiles looked upwards for patience. 

“And this is Efren. He’s a kelpie who I’ve been training personally along with my unit.”

“All you do is beat us up and either make us run or read.” Thomas mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

“It helps you survive, does it not? And I don’t _beat you up_ , my goddess you’re dramatic. I train you, there’s a difference. Anyway, I’m obviously the head of them and Brooke is my second.” 

“She’s a kanima? How is she so… put together?” Jackson asked harshly. 

“She’s sitting right there, ask her yourself.” Stiles waved a hand. 

“Kelpies are real?” Peter inquired while running his eyes over Efren. He slid closer to Caitlynn and crossed his arms.

“We’re sitting in a room full of werewolves, mages, and who knows what else. Of course kelpies are real.” Taking a breath, he continued.

“Charles here,” He pointed towards an older aged man, wearing a hat and waistcoat that Stiles had got him for his birthday. “Is the leader of the H-Unit.” Charles raised his hand.

“Are you just putting the first letter of the majority in front of ‘unit’?” Erica asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It sounds official, okay? Don’t diss the system, I made it.” Stiles raised his chin slightly, returning it to its normal position when Derek grumbled deeply. He stared at him for a while, noting how his eyes flashed before looking away cautiously. 

_Yup, still avoiding him._

“Charles here trains and teaches all the hunters, and Kate helps out with the logistics and strategy theories while I’m helping other units. I would introduce them, but their all spoilsports who wouldn’t humor me anyway, so.” With a shrug, Stiles quickly recited Jason, Anya, and Austin’s names. 

“I’m not introducing the wolves, you can do that.” Stiles pointedly nodded to his dad.

“Obviously, Stiles. I wouldn’t want to put you through more work than you’ve done already.” He retaliated sarcastically. “Ethan, Aiden, Kensy, Ennis and Kali are all my betas while Marcus is my second. Ennis and Kali weren’t able to make it since we didn’t want to risk anything with the pups she’s carrying.” Talia’s face lit with understanding.

“Of course. Please give them my best wishes.” She told him genuinely. “I’m sure you know my intermediate family already, so I’ll start with my betas. Jackson, Scott, Isaac, Boyd and Erica are all bitten due to certain circumstances. Lydia’s a banshee and Jordan is a hell hound. Stiles already figured out that Danny is a seer.” 

“You have a very rounded pack. I’m impressed.” His dad nodded appreciatively. 

“Thank you. Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t we talk arrangements?”

“By all means.” Deucalion leaned backwards, crossing his legs and shifting around until he was comfortable. 

“So I know that Aiden, Ethan, and Brooke are leaving in about two weeks from now. What do you think of Stiles joining them?”

“As much as I’d like to force him to do something, I can only influence him. And that only goes so far, especially when he puts his mind to something. You’ll have to talk over the details with him.” 

Stiles sighed when she caught his eye and ran a hand through his hair. 

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t have any of my things with me, my greenhouse is a mess and I have to relabel my herbs, the H and C-units were going to start sparring together soon, too, and I promised Caitlynn I’d show her a new spell.” 

Talia bit her lip and glanced towards her son. He was practically radiating hopefulness, curiosity, and affection. She chose to ignore the significant odor of sexual attraction. 

“I’d counter that by saying that we would provide you with anything you may need. From what I know about mages, they’re known to be territorial of their herbs and possessions so I’m sure you have some type of barrier blocking out your pack when you’re not around. You’re… units, as you call them, can continue to spar as well. Face time is a thing, you know. As for Caitlynn, I don’t know you very well but I’m sure she’d be training with the others if you agree for the stay. She’d still be improving, just not in that department, if you will.” 

Stiles gaped at her. Holy shit, she was _good_. He could practically feel the smugness radiating from Aiden and Brooke. Ethan wasn’t hiding a damn thing either, bouncing in his seat as he gazed at him imploringly.

He caved in with a sigh. His breath was knocked out of him as Ethan and Brooke jumped him, hugging him from both sides, breathless with excitement.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Talia grinned in triumph. 

“Well, I think that we sorted everything out. We can talk about your betas visiting us when it gets closer to that time. Do you have any more concerns?” His dad asked while standing and cracking his neck.

“I’m confident we covered everything that needed to be, yes. And if not, we have you on speed dial.” She chuckled warmly. Rising from her chair, she reached across the table and shook his hand. “It was a pleasure, Deucalion. Do stop by more often.”

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future.” He pointedly nodded towards Derek and held back a grin when the boy recoiled before bracing himself in that stony silence once again. He felt bad for the boy, somewhat. He knew his son and he would bet his life on the fact that Stiles wouldn’t make it easy for the were. 

Laura stepped up to her brothers side and regarded him cooly. Chuckling to himself, he gestured for his pack to rise.

“Stiles. I’ll have Caitlynn transfer your stuff to you tonight. Best behavior, no picking fights like last time. And remember, just because Aiden did it, it doesn’t mean you have to, also.” He reminded him slowly. 

Stiles scoffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Aiden when he snickered.

“Whatever. None of those things were my fault, and you know it. Call me when you get home, and tell Ennis he better keep his grubby fingers out of my room.” 

His father dismissed him with a wave and drew him into a short hug before retreating. 

Stiles watched with the recently acquainted pack as his family’s shape disappeared into the night. 

Aiden slapped him on the back while Brooke nudged his shoulder. 

“Brooke and Ethan are sharing a room, so you’re with me. I already claimed the bed, if you catch my drift.” Aiden briefed him with hooded eyes and a lick to his smirking lips. Stiles gagged and slapped his retreating, cackling form while everyone laughed. 

“Don’t worry, Houdini, you can share my bed anytime.” Erica winked as she led her mate passed him. He stared after her, baffled and mildly horrified that this seemed to be the norm in regards to her attitude. 

Glancing around, he noticed that Derek was constantly clenching and relaxing his fists, shaking his head and nodding at what his sister was whispering to him intensely. His eyes never left Stiles and he took a step towards Brooke, placing her in between them. 

What had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Another chapter down! Hope you enjoy!


	5. Stiles

Aiden glanced towards where Stiles was standing and snorted at his grim expression. Talia had barely served dinner, steak and vegetable broth, and Stiles had been examining the table for the last five minutes. There were a couple empty spots, one in the middle of Jackson and Scott, another by Peter, and one that Derek had pulled closer to himself and nearly growled at his sister when she had set her eye on it. 

Honestly, Aiden didn’t know if Stiles was truly that oblivious towards Derek’s interest, or if he was purposefully avoiding it. It wouldn’t be the first time, although he was brutal in the direct rejection towards the poor girl. He hadn’t even turned towards her, just a ‘Thanks for the interest, but I don’t date’. The poor girl had run off and sulked for days. 

“Stiles, just pick a damn chair. You are able to move it, you know.” Brooke sighed as she pierced another portion of meat with her fork. Stiles’ face lit up, as if she had solved a grand mystery and gave him the step by step on how she did it.

“That, my dear, is why you’re my second.” He pointed towards her with a beam. While he turned to grab his plate, Derek had stared hastily at Jackson and Peter until they gave in. Jackson sent him a glare full of disappointment as he slung up an arm to rest around it. Peter, of course, had to make a scene.

“Oh, Beatrice. My leg is so _sore_ ,” He wailed. Leaning against his wife, he rested his foot onto the leather and closed his eyes. “How could this happen to me? I’m a werewolf! What happened to the immunity!” Beatrice merely rolled her eyes and freed a hand in order to run it through his hair. Catching Derek’s eye, she caught on and focused on her plate as she attempted to keep her amusement quiet.

“I don’t know, honey. You should just rest it for a while. It seemed to help last time.” 

“Wonderful idea! I knew I loved you for a reason.” He chirped back with a grin. Stiles placed his phone in his pocket as he rounded the table. 

Derek’s chest puffed out on its own accord as his mate came closer. He ignored Laura’s foot as it nudged him, making sure that the chair to his left was pushed out just enough to seem inviting but not demanding. 

“Is this free?” Came a hesitant voice from directly behind him. He clenched a fist under the table, making sure that he didn’t grip his fork too hard as he counted to three. Turning his head, he smiled at Stiles.

“All yours,” he assured with a wave of his hand. Stiles eyed him warily before gripping the top of it and lifting it off the floor. 

“Thanks, man.” Derek’s mouth dropped as he watched the man tow the chair over to his pack mates and proceed to manhandle Aiden to the side. 

“Derek.” His mother’s hiss was laced with laughter and he grudgingly took his eyes from his infatuation. Laura had her head rested on the table, shoulders shaking as silent laughter was torn from her body. Cora smirked from beside her and shook her head slowly.

 _Subtle_ , she mouthed through a grin. Derek grumbled as he slumped over, extending it towards his mother when she chuckled.

“Patience, Derek. You have time.” She murmured soothingly. Changing directions, her lips quirked as she saw Brooke trying to steal Stiles’ steak.

“Quit it! You have your own damn food!” He laughed as he held it out of her reach. 

“Yeah, but you didn’t even touch it yet!”

“Because I’m having the appetizer first!” He protested as Ethan joined in from the side of Aiden. 

“Nobody has the appetizer first unless they’re eating out, and that’s only because that’s what comes out of the kitchen first.” Brooke argued. Ethan nodded sagely.

“She’s right.”

“Completely not factual!” Stiles squawked as Ethan gripped his wrist. Using his magic, he levitated his plate so it was a foot or so above his head. He sent a wink to the Hale pack when they expressed their surprise, regaining his footing when Ethan snickered.

“Brooke, I’ll give you my food if you answer one question, and only if I’m wrong.” 

“Fine.” Stiles noted how he had everyone’s attention as he reclaimed his seat and set his plate in front of him. The bitten wolves, with the exception of Jackson, and most of the Hales were either laughing or grinning as they watched him struggle. 

“Talia, permission to do a poll?” Talia’s eyebrows raised to her forehead as Brooke and Ethan paled. Aiden looked mischievously excited, a look she hadn’t seen on him before. They truly were more outgoing with their emissary and coven leader around. 

Setting down her utensils, she waved a hand. 

“Who here indulges themselves in some way, shape, or form of foreplay before having sex?” Stiles asked directly. Scott, Danny, and Derek choked while Peter and Laura cackled. Brooke slumped into her chair, a continuous mutter of ‘Oh my goddess’ and ‘He didn’t’ over and over. Aiden had laid a hand on Stiles’ shoulder, laughing gleefully at his brother's innocently sour expression.

“Oh, I like this one, Talia. Can we keep him?” Peter asked through his guffaws. Talia giggled at her son’s red ears. Laura was gasping beside her and she patted her back absentmindedly. 

“He already has a pack, Peter. As for your question, Stiles, I’d say the majority answer would be yes.” Stiles fist pumped, actually _fist pumped_ and turned to his second with a triumphant glimmer in his eyes.

“Don’t say anything. I don’t want your food anymore. In fact, here.” She slid her plate over as she hid her smile behind her hair. She wasn’t a wolf, or any were creature in fact, but she couldn’t deny that her leader’s presence soothed her and her magic alike.

“You’re such a spoil sport, Brooke. You need to eat. I’m going to train you and the twins tomorrow.” Stiles informed while stuffing his mouth. Beatrice swallowed her food before engaging him in a conversation, curious at the sudden loss of color at the faces of the three pack mates. 

“You train them?”

“Yup. I already know they’ve been slacking, and that’s unacceptable. I gave them each a list to work on while they were here. That just means I have to test them on it early.” Stiles responded through stuffing the food in his mouth. 

“If you knew they weren’t going to do it, why give it to them? Seems like a waste of time to me.” Jackson grumbled. Stiles pointed towards him with a spark in his gaze. Jackson immediately felt uncomfortable. 

“Because they’re pack, young grasshopper. And if you want the ones you love to live, you train and spar with them over and over until you’re positive each and every one of them can hold their own against an opposing pack.” He nodded sagely for a moment before taking a gulp of water. Jackson eyed him weirdly. 

“You mean opposing person.” He felt the need to clarify. Talia and Peter paid close attention to Stiles’ response, although the others were interested as well. 

Stiles cocked his head, his smile a bit lopsided.

“Sure.” He agreed with a snort. 

“Would it be alright with you if we watched your … training session tomorrow?” Beatrice asked for lack of a better word. Stiles nodded eagerly. 

“Well, yeah. You guys are going to be sparring with them, after all. I need to see how far behind they are from the rest of the pack.” Jackson’s eyes lit up, as did Laura’s and Derek’s. _This could be a chance to prove his worth._ He thought joyously. 

“For real? You want everyone to attack your pack mates while you sit back and relax?” Erica asked with a grin.

“They need to learn. What faster way than putting their lives at stake?” He responded while wiping his mouth with some paper towels. 

“It wouldn’t be the first time. Remember the goblins?” Ethan shuddered at Brooke’s reminder and Aiden scowled.

“That wasn’t even bad. And you guys won, didn’t you?” Stiles beamed at them, pride seeping out of his pores. 

“Only because-” Ethan started before Stiles glared at him. The Hale pack did a double take at the sudden change in Stiles. Gone was the bubbly, quirky attitude and in its place was determination and sternness fit for a warrior. 

Talia could easily see why he was the emissary and coven leader. The atmosphere and settling tension was ridiculous. Her son didn’t seem to mind, leaning forwards and resting his head in his hand as he eyes Stiles, dare she say it, _hungrily_. He has some work ahead of him, that one.

“I said you beat them. It doesn’t matter if you lost an arm and a leg. You would’ve survived, and that’s all that matters. Your lives are the deciding factors that determine if you’ve succeeded or failed. You’re still here, yes?” Derek watched, entranced, as his mate’s pack gave him all their attention, looking like kicked puppies. 

“Then you succeeded. There’ll always be someone out there that’s stronger, smarter than you. That’s why you need to train and enhance the skills you already have. Not to beat them or come out the victor, but to be able to hold your own until we can come and back you up.” Stiles held their eyes until he was sure they got his point. Determining they understood, he nodded and stood up, his chair flying out from under him and scratching the floor. A couple people jumped and he laughed, relaxing as he stretched. 

“Now then, I’m going to head to bed. It’s been a long day. Thank you for dinner, Talia, it was delicious. Brooke, Ethan, Aiden. I expect you to meet me outside at six sharp. Goodnight, everybody.” Picking up his plate, he strolled towards the kitchen, discarding his plate into the dishwasher and following his nose to the room that smelled the most like Aiden.

Both packs watched him leave, the Hale pack gaping at what had just happened while the twins and Brooke grinned at their emissaries back. 

“What the hell was that? _Who_ the hell was that?” Cora blurted as soon as they heard a door open and close softly. They could hear the laughter coming from the room, but were staring at the visiting pack members for validation that yes, that _did_ just happen. 

The trio stood up as one, beaming at each other as they regarded the Hale pack. 

Oh yeah, it was great to have Stiles back.

“That was Stiles.” They replied simultaneously. “The best emissary out there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support! It means so much to me and keeps me inspired and passionate about where this story is headed! R&R at your leisure!


	6. Training and Realizations

Lydia smacked Jackson’s arm as he yawned for the third time in a span of nearly two minutes. It had taken her nearly fifteen minutes to get him up, and the only reason he did was because she had threatened to get rid of his hair gel. 

“I don’t get why we have to get up the same time they do. S’not like he’s _our_ emissary.” Lydia looked upwards as she counted to ten.

“Because, Jackson. You know how people claim the Alpha pack is the strongest one out there. If we watch them train, we may pick up a few things. Besides, Stiles said he needs our help. It would be in our best interest to get on his good side early on.”

“She’s right,” Laura whispered into his ear from behind, startling him into a jump while he was mid yawn. Giggling at his attempt of a glare, she came to a stop beside him while glancing at the newbies. 

“What the hell are they doing, anyway?” She asked, watching as Stiles placed necklaces on Brooke and the twins that seemed to be made of leather and twine, reeking of bitter herbs. Ethan was shaking his head, pointing at his brother while Aiden scoffed. Brooke was stretching off to the side, her tank top riding up as her hair brushed her shoulders from the high pony tail it was in. 

“I Don’t know. We just got out here. Didn’t he say to come out at six? It’s only five fifty, we’re early and everything.” Lydia huffed in annoyance. The one time she was late and it wasn’t even her fault.

“Well, looks like they’re headed over now.” Laura chirped. Sure enough, Stiles and the trio stopped just a few feet short of the Hale pack. Stiles grinned at the crowd, he always liked when he had people to complain to while he trained the others.

“Hey, guys! You all showed up, huh?” He eyed the group, snorting when he saw that Erica and Isaac were still in their pajamas.

Talia watched fondly as Cora leaned on Peter, whining into his chest as he agreed solemnly. “Well, you did say you needed our help, yes?” 

“Yeah! I gotta kick their asses back into shape!” Stiles perked up while Ethan shuffled his feet, peeking at his pack mates out of the corner of his eye. They too looked nervous, although Brooke was wearing her determined face while Aiden was cracking his knuckles and neck. 

“So what do you need us to do?” Talia asked readily. Stiles hummed, turning to face his pack. 

“Have you guys stretched and ran already?”

“Five times around the preserve, just like you asked.” Aiden confirmed with a hard nod. 

Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“How many times did you slow down?”

“We didn’t, made it the whole circuit.” Brooke beamed. Stiles whooped, matching his second’s expression.

“For real! Finally! That’s awesome! Now you just have to make it around fifteen times and you’ll be all caught up in that portion. Man, Ennis is gonna be pissed that I was right.” Stiles chuckled.

“Alright, Talia. Who are your best fighters and your wildcard?”

Talia hummed, studying her pack. She could practically feel her son’s desperation to get a good rep from her and she held back a groan. Cora was right, he did need to work on his subtlety. 

“Peter is the most experienced besides myself. He’s a quick thinker and fast to come up with new strategies. Cora is very agile and mostly does sudden surprise attacks. Laura knows how to get under her opponents skin, taunts them until they become predictable. Boyd is all brawn while Erica helps him plan, so they’re a package deal. Isaac is the distraction, and Scott doesn’t really like to indulge in violence so he avoids it when he can. Jackson can be very… aggressive. He gets carried away a lot. Derek is… well, he’s the analytical type. Studies his opponent while the pack attacks them and then jumping in when he’s figured them out.” 

Stiles eyes the pack with a new intensity, scrutinizing each of them slowly. When he reaches Jackson, it clicks.

“Oh! You were a kanima, yeah? That explains it. Ellen had a lot of trouble with that, too. I’ll call her up sometime and she can give you tips. I can help train you too, if you want.” 

Jackson gaped at him until Lydia dug her elbow into his ribs.

“Uh, yeah. I’ll think about it.” He trailed off as he dug his hands into his hoodie pocket.

“Awesome.” Turning towards the hunters, hell hound, and spark, he waves them closer.

“Can you guys fight?”

“My dad and I mostly do long range.” Allison tells him. 

“I can hold my own, but I mostly take care of the aftermath.” 

“Hell hound, right.” Stiles catches on.

“I, uh. I don’t really know how to use it? I can spread mountain ash, but that’s pretty much it.” Danny smiles sheepishly. 

“What? Doesn’t your emissary teach you?” Stiles frowned. 

“He’s very… cryptic.”

“Ugh, he’s a druid, isn’t he?” Stiles groans. “I hate them. Yes, I’m aware that’s a strong word but what do they even do? Giving me damn riddles isn’t going to help me save anyone anytime soon. Jesus.” He grumbled under his breath, oblivious to the amused stares following as he paced.

“Stiles.” Brooke waved a hand in front of him. “Training. We still have to do it.”

“Right! Okay, I want everybody who’s willing from the Hale pack to attack mine. I’ll be moderating off to the side, so no one gets seriously injured.” Stiles clapped. Everyone except Danny, Beatrice and Scott stepped forward and Stiles eyed him pityingly. 

“Man, I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m gonna help you get your balls back. Cross my heart.” Scott’s mouth dropped as his pack cackled, watching incredulously as Stiles walked further out onto the field, everybody following him.

“This should be good,” He nodded to himself. Snapping his fingers, a mountain ash barrier enclosed everyone in the clearing. Two circles encircled them, one with the people participating and a larger one around the people who were watching. 

“What’s this for?” Talia asked curiously.

“I don’t like interference. And, Talia, if you feel the need to step in please say something. The last pack we were with nearly tore my head off.” 

Derek snarled at that and, honestly, Stiles was getting tired of his attitude.

“Dude, what’s your problem?” He asked him while rolling his sleeves up and sighing. All the side conversations stopped, Laura grinning wildly along with Cora as they watched in anticipation.

“I- what?” Derek questioned with wide eyes, a deer caught in headlights look if Stiles ever saw one. 

“Do you have chronic constipation? Abdominal pain? Is there a condition you have that literally pains you so much you lash out and growl at everyone randomly? Because I have things for that. Pills, ointments, hell I even made Efren a couple edibles one time just so he could sleep more.” Stiles carried on, ignoring the snorts and snickers going around their makeshift circle. Brooke was hissing for him to knock it off from behind him, but he was just so done with Derek’s bullshit.

Talia held a hand over her mouth, torn between stepping in and letting her son fend for himself. The latter won out, eventually. If he wants Stiles as his mate, he’s going to have to learn how to interact with him.

“I- no? I mean, no, I don’t have any… problems you listed. Any of them.” Derek managed to get out, hating how he could feel the tips of his ears turning red. Stiles eyed him before nodding slowly.

“Okay, but, bro. I’m here if you need to talk. Trust me, I get a bunch of kudos from friends all over the world for the goods I supply them with.” Derek mumbled something that he didn’t hear, but had his pack in hysterics and even Aiden cracked a grin. 

“Alright, we’re going to go through formations. Hale pack, I want you to attack them like you usually would every time. Good?” At their nods, he stepped out from in between them.

“Okay. Make sure you don’t give them any type of heads up or time to prepare. You’re goal is to take off the necklaces they put on earlier. That represents their life.” 

The Hale’s and company - Heh, he was totally going to copyright that - surrounded his pack.

“We’re going 147-A!” He shouted. Immediately, Brooke used her elemental magic, creating a wind gust aimed at their opponents feet and knocked a couple were’s down. Peter and Jackson snarled, charging towards Ethan with their claws out. Cora, Erica and Boyd had teamed up and were attempting to separate the twins. 

Aiden roared, flashing his eyes and stunning them momentarily with a roar. In that time, he gripped Cora’s arm and threw her into Boyd. While they were getting up, Erica tried to punch him but he caught her fist and used the momentum to turn her, making her take the blow Cora’s kick had been intending for him.

Brooke was currently blocking bullets and arrows from the hunters and blows from Laura, Isaac and Jordan. Laura got in a swipe to her shoulder and Brooke hissed as she glared at her. Laura smirked in response, only for her eyes to widen in surprise when Jordan, who had been charging in from behind Brooke, had gone straight through her shoved his knee into Laura’s stomach instead. 

“Brooke, that was awesome!” Stiles cheered. Talia was staring in disbelief at the scene, raising her hand periodically as if to step in but putting it down and biting her lip when she saw that everyone was fine. 

Ethan was holding his own, dodging Jackson’s swipe and kicking the back of his knee to mess up his equilibrium. Peter managed to land an elbow jab into the middle of his spine, and Stiles winced, although he couldn’t hide his smile.

 _They’re doing better than I imagined._ Stiles beamed. Scanning to see which twin was in the worst predicament, he decided on Ethan, who was completely wolfed out and alternating between offense and defense against Jackson and Peter. Derek had joined in and was proceeding to inch his claws and teeth closer and closer to the frail necklace laying innocently around Ethan’s neck.

 _Damn, he really does jump right in there when he’s figured it out. Didn’t take him long, either._ Stiles grudgingly admitted. Although he would probably struggle a lot on his own. 

Stiles focused on his pack bond with Ethan, following it to his heart and from there to where his wolf was settled somewhere in his core. The wolf greeted his magic eagerly, wagging its tail at his touch and submitting easily. 

Stiles loved how his pack trusted him, would never trade it for the world.

Peter and Jackson blinked as Ethan was suddenly back to normal, his beta shift gone. Ethan himself just groaned, realizing what Stiles had done. Peter got in a kick to Ethan’s rib, frowning when he heard the bone crack. 

Talia gasped and snapped her head towards Stiles.

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing that we haven’t practiced. All I did was block his wolfy powers for a bit. He’s now, in general standards, a human. And look at him, he’s doing great!” 

Talia was speechless. Was Stiles always this… brutal when training? She couldn’t imagine putting her pack through what she was witnessing. 

Stiles could feel the pain coming from Ethan and waited until he was on the verge of passing out, movements becoming sloppy, before returning his wolf. 

“New record, Ethan! Five minutes with a fractured rib and internal bleeding!” Ethan beamed back, laughing joyously as he dodged Peter and Jackson, his pack mates egging him on with their howling cackles behind him. The Hales watched them, all reaching the same conclusion.

_They're insane._

Stiles went through as many formations as he could before the Hale pack dropped. Aiden and Brooke had also beat their previous record. Brooke had nearly gotten her ACL torn out from a maneuver gone wrong, but fixed her mistake right away and only had a cut. Aiden managing what would’ve been a fatal blow with his broken, limp human hand before Talia called it off.

Stiles headed over to where his pack was laying on the ground, panting. Brooke held her hand to her leg, using some of her magic to heal it while Aiden and Ethan were draining her pain.

“Move it,” Stiles teased her with a gentle grin. She laughed back and removed her hand, Stiles grimacing at how deep the cut was.

“I didn’t realize it was this bad. I would’ve lent you some of my magic otherwise to heal it faster.” Brooke just giggled, laying her head on his shoulder as his magic stitched everything together. 

“Shut up, Stiles. We kicked ass out there, and it’s all thanks to you. If it were too much for us, we would’ve told you.” 

“Yeah, man. We would’ve been long gone if we felt you were pushing us too hard. But you’re right, we’re getting stronger everyday. And besides, we have a vacation coming up, remember?” Ethan reminded him with a soft smile. Stiles grinned back. 

The pack had been planning a small get away to a nearby beach house for months now, and as it grew closer so did their excitement.

“I suppose. You have to promise to tell me, though. I know I can be… intense.” 

“Stiles, we’re fine. Shut your trap already, it’s weird hearing you apologize. Besides, we would’ve lived, yeah?” Aiden nudged his shoulder with a genuine smile.

“Yeah,” Stiles perked up at their pack motto. “We would’ve lived.” 

“Alright, get off the floor! I’m starving and have a phone call to make.” Stiles urged his magic to spread into them, giving them energy and strength that they had lost in the spar. 

“I am proud of you, though.”

“We know,” Aiden groaned dramatically. “You sound like a proud mom.”

Stiles squawked at the comparison, but Talia cut him off. 

“Are you sure you guys are okay? That seemed vicious. And you train like that all the time? My goodness.” Talia murmured as she ran a critical eye over all of them. 

“We’re fine, Talia. Promise. This is nothing.” Ethan replied with a laugh.

“Alright, if you’re sure.” 

The Hale pack spoke up at once, some of them near hysterics with either worry or excitement, but all of them were chatting. 

“Derek.” Stiles called him. He rolled his eyes as _once again_ the talking lowered to a hush, then nothing at all.

“Yeah?” He responded, lifting the bottom of his shirt to wipe his forehead. Stiles studied him, pushing aside the sudden flare of lust but apparently not soon enough, as he saw Derek’s eyes widen and his breath hitch, as well as heard some gasps.

“That was the closest anybody’s gotten to beating a member of my pack that isn’t already in it.” Stiles told him, forcing out the next sentence. “I’m… impressed.” 

With that said, he turned and headed into the house, his pack hot on his heels while Derek’s pack jeered and teased him.

“Damn, Derek. Walk around without a shirt on and the boy's yours!” Erica snickered. Seeing how his face flushed and the considering tilt to his mouth, Beatrice sighed through a chuckle.

“No, Derek. You can’t do that.”

“I wasn’t going to!” He protested as they left him behind for some semblance of privacy.

His mother grinned at him, tossing him a wink as she shut the back door.

Only then did he let out a breath and grinned, feeling lighter than he ever has.

“He’s interested in me.”

Derek beamed as he let it settle, rushing into the house once he heard his name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your support! If you catch any spelling or grammar errors, please tell me and I'll fix it as soon as I can. I tried to do something different for their training, so let me know your thoughts on if it worked for you guys or not!


	7. Patrick

“Hey, who’d you need to call?” Brooke asked from where everyone was watching a movie Lydia had picked. Stiles dropped his handful of popcorn, eyes widening and lips tilting upwards. 

“Uh, Stiles? You good?” Scott frowned. Everyone could hear how Stiles’ heart rate subtly picked up, which was when Aiden figured it out.

“You didn’t.” He groaned. “ _Please_ tell me you didn’t invite him.” Erica leaned forward from where she was planted on Boyd’s lap, her grin showing too many teeth to be innocent.

“Oh? Who’d he invite and is he coming here?” 

“Some other crazy ass dude who Stiles befriended a couple years ago.” Brooke huffed. “Trust me, once he and Stiles are in the same room, everybody’s IQ drops. I failed my chemistry final when we were all still in high school.”

“We offered to help you!” Stiles protested indignantly. “And that was your fault, too. You didn’t study nearly as hard as you were supposed to.” 

“Yeah? And when did you study? After you were done riding him all hours of the night?” Stiles flushed at her wording, using his magic to throw a pillow at her since he was too far. She caught it with one hand, raising a mocking eyebrow.

“So mature, Stiles. Really.” 

Laura pinched Derek’s leg as she saw his eyes begin to glow, using the tip of her claws to draw a little blood. He snapped his gaze towards her, baring his teeth.

“Der, you already know he’s your mate. That was in the past," she assured him. “C’mon, you don’t want to scare him, right?” Although she doubted Stiles was capable of feeling fear after she had seen him training the others. 

Derek relaxed marginally, breathing deeply as he clenched his hand around the edge of the couch. Laura sent waves of comfort and understanding towards him, making sure he was calmed down before paying attention again.

“-And you _know_ it wasn’t like that. You make it seem like I’m a slut or something, always riding this or blowing that. They were bubbles, guys. Bubbles! It’s not hard to say!” Stiles was ranting. 

Allison giggled at his expression, Scott mirroring her and smiling largely as soon as he noticed. Lydia grumbled as she paused the movie, settling in by Jackson as she watched the Alpha pack with a thin lipped smile. 

Isaac was just confused. “So you didn’t have sex with him?”

“No!” Stiles threw his arms up. “We didn’t! Can I please call him before it gets later?” 

“S’not like you’d wait, anyway.” Ethan sighed. Stiles took a deep breath, urging his heart to slow down as he typed in Patrick’s number. 

“Stiles!” The cheerful tone immediately lifted his mood. “I was wondering when you would call!”

“Ooh, somebody’s got a sexy accent.” Erica leered at the phone. She stared at Brooke until she looked towards her with an amused smile. “Where’s he from?”

“Patrick’s from Romania. He and Stiles met in college when they got kicked out of the library for ‘disturbing the peace’. Both of them thought the librarian was talking to them so they stood up and boom, friendship made.” Boyd chuckled, surprised at how easily he could envision it. 

“Patrick! Sorry, dude, I’m with another pack right now with the children. But guess what! I figured out a way around my teleportation spell so I didn’t pass out as soon as you got here! Isn’t that awesome? We could see each other like every other day!” Stiles giggled. 

Derek glared at the phone, hoping if he pictured it hard enough, this _Patrick_ person would see it and leave Stiles alone. He didn’t do sharing.

“For real! Bro, that’s amazing! Imagine the possibilities! Remember last time when we were running from those vampires and then you made yourself all bright and shit like the sun? I had to hide your body while I wiped the town’s memories!” Patrick laughed. 

“I woke up and my arm was wrapped so tight I nearly cut it off!” 

Peter watched as Stiles and his friend cackled and recalled old memories, glancing at Talia with furrowed brows. 

‘What do we do?’ He mouthed towards her. She sighed, giving Derek an apologetic look before stealing her resolve. 

‘We can’t say no if he asks. We wanted him here, remember?’ She responded.

‘Yes, that’s true. But, Talia, I pride myself on my intelligence. I really don’t want to take the risk of losing it.’ 

Talia snorted, waving away her daughters stares. 

“We’ll be fine.” She confirmed, although there was a hint of a smirk sneaking up on her face. “Stiles.”

“Hold up, man. Alpha Hale’s talking to me.” He put the phone on mute, staring at her with a certain excitement in his eyes he had been lacking. 

“Stiles, if you want-”

“Don’t do it!” Aiden begged. “Last time they were together, they had to wipe a town's memories. Didn’t you hear them? They’re insane separately, Talia, but together their absolutely mad.” 

Talia bit her lip, nodding along as she held back her smile.

“Well, this house could use some excitement.”

Derek was radiating betrayal and anger, but she knew her son would forgive her in the long run. If they didn’t do everything they could to get on Stiles’ good side now, there was no hope that he would agree to future visits, much less a move. 

“If you want to, you can have him over tonight.” Stiles beamed at her and she nearly let her shock show at how strongly it pleased her. 

“For real? Oh man, you’re the best, Talia! After daddy dearest of course! I owe you one, for sure!” 

“I’m sure I’ll find something to do with the favor.” She grinned back warmly.

“Awesome! I gotta tell Patrick.” Stiles proceeded to do just that, and while everyone watched he popped out his fox ears and tail, seemingly unaware of it as he continued.

“What the-”

“How’d he-”

“Is he-”

“Don’t ask,” Ethan sighed. “Last time they saw each other was like two years ago. When Patrick had to go back home Stiles sulked for months, only leaving his room to train us and watch the Titanic on repeat. The ears and tail stayed for nearly half a year. Our Alpha had to make sure he stayed in the house so nobody would see him.” 

“The Titanic?” Lydia raised a considering brow. “Maybe he does have taste, after all.”

“So what is their relationship?” Laura asked as Stiles’ began to rock on his heels and flick his tail.

“I mean, they’re close but it’s purely platonic. Stiles doesn’t date and Patrick is straight. They did do a blood oath, though, so there’s no getting rid of him either.” 

“A blood oath?” Laura gasped. Derek tensed beside her. They both knew what that entailed, and although it didn’t physically match up to sex, the intimacy and trust was the same as that of a mate bond, if not stronger. 

“Yeah. It was pretty cool, honestly. Every year they send each other gifts and it’s the ugliest, yet sweetest thing I’ve ever witnessed Stiles do.” Brooke admitted with a grin. 

“But Patrick makes him happy and Stiles makes him stronger, so it evens out, I suppose.”

“Huh.”

Stiles hung up, dancing towards the middle of the room and glancing at Talia one last time. Once she waved her hand for him to continue, he beamed and used his claw to slice a gash into his wrist. 

“Stiles!” Derek and Talia rushed over, but Brooke threw a mountain ash line in front of them with a chuckle.

“He’s fine. He does this all the time when they use this technique, thankfully he's using less than normal. About time, too. He used to let his arm leak until there was a puddle on the ground. And what was his reasoning?” Brooke shot him a playful glower as he shrugged, focused on getting his blood buddy next to him.

“He said that, and I quote, ‘the more blood I use, the faster he’ll get here’.”

“It worked, too.” Stiles muttered. “Now move it, I want to be the first one he sees.”

“You’re literally a kid, Stilinski.” Aiden snickered as he moved to where the Hale’s were on the other side of the room. Ethan and Brooke followed with no comment, their faces saying it all. 

“Okay, he should be here-”

“Stiles!” A voice called from beside him. Stiles pounced on him, tail wagging happily -yes, he did notice, thank you very much- as Patrick held him in a tight hug.

“Patrick! Holy shit, you’re here!” Stiles laughed as his magic pulled them up. Patrick wrapped an arm around his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of his dear friend. 

“I know! Where are we, anyway? Nevada?” 

“Close, but no. Welcome to California!” Patrick’s eyes glittered as he scented the air.

“Bro! There’s literally a forest in the backyard! We could try to get the birds to talk again!” 

Stiles nodded vehemently, ears perked and tail a blur. Patrick's own ears perked up, although his most natural form was a bear. Stiles had teased him so much when they first shifted together, and he still like to rub them when they were out for long intervals. He claims that they relax him, but Patrick knows he just likes to compare and then get smug about how his fur is softer.

“Totally! We were so close last time! If only we had a bit longer, I’m sure they would’ve told us some juicy little secret.”

Derek coughed pointedly as his pack stared at the duo in bewildered silence. He didn’t think the guy was so impressive. Sure, he was good looking, but he was obviously a child. No way he could provide for Stiles like he could. 

Before Derek could open his mouth, Patrick sent him a giant grin, his left dimple out full force and enough to give Danny and Allison a run for their money. 

“Stiles! You didn’t tell me you found your mate! What the fuck, man! I would’ve brought the condoms we got from that selkie back in Wales!” 

The house fell silent as the atmosphere thickened.

Derek gulped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your support, guys! It honestly gives me the confidence that you're enjoying it which in turn gives me motivation to write more. Does that make sense? Hahaha, I hope so. Anyway, share your thoughts below and don't hesitate to call me out on a mistake if you see one!


	8. The Mage's Mate

Ethan watched as Stiles’ face closed off, an anxious pit forming in his stomach.

“ _Damn it, Patrick. Why’d you have to mention mates?_ ” Brooke sighed from beside him. 

“I don’t have a mate.” Stiles stated in a detached voice. Patrick winced when he realized what he had blurted.

“Stiles, you’re still-” He began gently, turning his body so he could rest a hand on Stiles’ shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting matter. He could feel how distraught his friend was and nearly recoiled as the pain and self hatred doubled.

Stiles broke away from his grip as he headed to the backyard.

“I don’t want to talk about this. I have to train.” 

“Stiles, honey, it’s nearly lunch. Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything?” Talia pressed lightly. 

He sent a look over his shoulder, and she knew she wasn’t the only one who held in an unsettled breath.

Stiles’ eyes had lost their light. Instead of the mischievous, joy filled amber orbs she had come to know, there were two black eyes staring back at her. There was a lone amber stripe that was thin enough she had to squint on the outer edges of the iris. 

His face looked thinner, although she didn’t know how that was possible. Gone was the healthy glow to his skin and in place was such a pale pallor he seemed to be on death row. 

“I’m fine. Thanks for the concern.” 

“Stiles.” Patrick growled, surprising everybody at his approach. “What have I told you about that?”

Stiles glared back, nose upturned defiantly.

“I’m not talking about her. It still feels fresh.” He grunted in a raspy voice, as though it physically pained him to use his voice.

Patrick sent a glance to Stiles’ pack, who gave him a curt nod. Brooke straightened her posture, giving him a once over. Glancing back at Stiles who nearly clogged up their pack bonds with grief, she held in a whine.

“Don’t stay out too late, and not too close to the house or the more populated areas. I’m giving you until midnight, and if you’re not back we’ll go find you.” Brooke laid out firmly.

“That’s more than enough time.” Patrick grinned, albeit sorrowful, back at her. 

“Then go. And wash off any and all of the blood, too. We don’t need that smell in a house we’ve been invited into. We’re lucky Alpha Hale allowed you in, too.” 

“Of course.” 

Stiles growled, turning on his heel as he stomped out. He wasn’t a kid, far from it. He was a twenty three year old emissary to one of the most powerful packs in the country, if not the most. He didn’t need anyone to- to _babysit_ him. And what the fuck was Patrick’s problem? He didn’t have a mate, not anymore. He had made sure of that himself. 

He snarled as his mind tried to conjure up images of his mate in her last moments, flashes of her angelic, watery smile and how her eyes had filled with such understanding and adoration while she gripped his wrist in both of her hands. How she had turned her head more, wincing slightly as his claws sank further into her throat, but held on long enough to kiss his wrists which were stained with her rich, crimson blood. How her beautiful warm eyes had met his one last time, dripping water down her flushed face as if they would give them a clean slate, washing away the wrongs. How she had took in one last, shaky breath and opened her mouth to proclaim-

‘ _Stiles!_ ’ Patrick's roar filled his mind, snapping him back to reality. He noticed that his claws had been hovering over the most prominent vein in his forearm, snorting impassively. 

Of course. 

He began to spin around, mouth already open to defend himself, because he was _fine_ , he would survive, when he registered the hurdling bear charging towards him, riling up his instincts. 

His fox shift came out instinctively, his clothes falling around him as he squirmed out, heart in his throat. Although he loved being a werefox as his most prominent shift, he hated how the instincts he had were based on that of a prey rather than a predator.

Finally escaping, he yelped when he saw that Patrick was less than a yard away.

‘ _What the fuck! Quit it_!’ He screamed towards the bear. All he got in response was an amused grunt and teeth snapping at the end of his wildly flailing tail.

‘ _Run_.’ Patrick purred back, and although Stiles himself could tell that he was playing, his instincts got a jump start and his body moved on it’s own, dragging him along with it. 

This would be a while.

Lydia watched as Stiles, quite literally, got hunted by his friend. Who was also his blood oath partner. And could turn into a bear, which-

 _No,_ She told herself. _I’m not thinking about that today._

Adjusting herself in Jackson’s grip, she glared towards his pack. All of them were watching with distressed expressions, presumably from how Stiles was nearly flooding the room with his emotions. She was still human and yet her own palms had been way too close to sweating. 

“Alright, what's going on?” She snapped her fingers to gain the rooms attention. Jackson tightened his grip marginally, tugging her a little closer. 

Lydia didn’t mind, she was a little shaky and she wanted to hide it the best she could.

Brooke glanced at Aiden with sympathetic eyes. 

“He talked to you the most.” She whispered to him.

“More like shook his head.” Aiden disagreed in an abnormally grave tone.

“Still more than he did with us. Tell them.”

Aiden grimaced, fidgeting with his hands before he sighed. He stared at the Hale Pack, noting how Derek seemed to be indecisive whether or not to go after Stiles or stay and hear what had happened to him.

“Stiles’ mate is dead.” He told them bluntly. "It's been two years."

Scott blinked, glancing at Derek with a frown. 

“I thought Stiles was Derek’s mate?” Isaac questioned.

“He is. But Stiles is both a were and a mage, so he could have gone either route. He was focused more on his mage instincts since he was training to become our emissary and getting stronger. You guys know who your mates are right away, because our wolves give us feedback directly on whether or not it’ll work out, if they’re the one, so to speak. For mages it’s different, it’s all about their gut feeling and first impressions. So really, Stiles could have two mates, which would of been Derek and Mckenna.”

“Wait, couldn’t his fox just tell him that Derek’s his mate? That would be so much easier, they could bang and just come out and tell us they're a couple. We all knew Derek had found his mate, he wouldn’t shut up about it after Stiles had fallen asleep.” Cora snorted, throwing a smile to her brother. She frowned when he didn’t give a response, just staring at the trio intently, hands limp by his sides. 

“It doesn’t work like that. I mean, it does, but-” Brooke ran a hand through her hair in frustration, taking a breath before finding the right wording. “Stiles is different.”

“To say the least.” Aiden nodded, a smirk tugging at his mouth. Brooke shot him a look that had him biting his lip, avoiding eye contact with her.

“When he met Mckenna, he was in a really bad spot. He was trying to find a balance between the fox and spark. She had been a spark herself, like Danny is.” 

Danny leaned forward, eyes focused as he listened in.

“She was out practicing when a group of omegas saw her. They wanted to force her to be their emissary, thinking it would make them a real pack. Stiles had been with me at the time, and we were a little further than a mile or two. All I know is that one minute I was getting my ass handed to me and the next he was in his beta shift, which was the first time he was able to get it without fully transforming. I was ecstatic.”

Brooke smiled softly, recalling how her leader’s face had filled with such joy, before it twisted in a look of panic. 

“Then Stiles said something felt wrong, he was nearly in hysterics with how was trying to describe it. Sparks had started climbing up his arms and legs and I thought he was in pain, but he didn’t feel it. Then all of a sudden his eyes blow wide and he’s just… gone. His magic had recognized the potential mate and had literally took over, finding the balance for him. Stiles had caught on, teleported himself, and then came back nearly two hours later.”

“And he went to save Mckenna.” Beatrice filled in. Brooke sent her a grin, the one a person gets when they speak of deceased loved one.

“I wouldn’t say that. Mckenna nearly killed him right along with the omegas.” Ethan recalled with an awe filled, somber smile. 

“She was great at surprising us,” Brooke agreed. “Anyway. Two hours later Stiles came back, bloody, bruised, and nearly falling over. But then we had seen Mckenna. She was helping him walk, had one of his arms around her shoulders and was gripping his side, healing a deep scratch one of the wolves had managed to get in. Her arm was just dripping, I’m telling you. They had bitten off a good chunk of her shoulder and yet she was so… eager to help him.”

“We were all in shock that our emissary had been so beat up when he was the second strongest in the pack. I remember how Kate had turned off the TV and watched them. I think, in hindsight, she was the one who first realized.”

“She totally did,” Ethan chuckled. 

“So there we were, totally silent as we watched Stiles and this random girl. She was so excited. Gesturing wildly with one hand while she laughed and reenacting their fight. Her leg had given out on her when she did this little kick, and both of them had fell. We were out there in seconds, ready to help them out but they were just looking at each other, side by side in their own blood, and laughing. Ennis took one look at them and walked back in the house, telling us he didn’t want to watch their honeymoon stage.” Brooke giggled, wiping a tear away.

“I was the one who asked Stiles what the fuck had happened and who the hell that girl was,” Aiden supplied. “The look he gave me was, I don’t even know, man. It was like he had just found his purpose in life, and as he explained to us what had happened while we helped them up, Mckenna was staring at him the same way. She was that special kind of crazy, but she was crazy about him.” Aiden looked down at his lap, and the Hale pack didn’t mention the damp drops that were wetting his jeans.

“As soon as we got them in the house and all patched up, we introduced her to our pack and offered her to join. She accepted obviously, beaming at Stiles when he told her that she would be in his unit. She was with us for five years, and we had never seen Stiles so happy. He had found his special person, y’know?” Ethan pitched in, giving Brooke a break to collect her thoughts.

“This one time, Aiden and I heard a bunch of noises coming from their room at, I don’t know, two, three in the morning. He was so sure they were going at it, had wanted to tease them from all the pranks they played on the pack during our prank wars -which they created, by the way- and so he just barged in. But all they were doing was playing chess, throwing pillows at each other. Mckenna had jumped over the board, tackled him before he could make the finishing move.”

Aiden chuckled at the memory, blinking and tossing his arm around his mate, towing her closer to his side. He did the same with his brother, clearing his throat to finish the story.

“Stiles and I were on a scouting mission back in France for a couple months. Stiles had asked Mckenna to come along, but she refused. They had a baby on the way and she didn’t want to risk it. On the last day he asked me to be his best man,” Derek flinched violently next to Laura, who was drawing blood from biting her lip so hard. “I told him yes, of course I did. We went out together that night to buy the rings. And when we got back…” He trailed off, unsure how to say the next part. 

Brooke nudged him as she took over.

“When they got back the house was… different. A lot more tense. We had noticed that Mckenna had been acting weird a little while after they had been gone, maybe a week or two. She wasn’t as outgoing, talking to us only when we initiated it, eating and sleeping less. All she did was train. And stare at the chessboard she and Stiles had used so much the paint began to chip, even after they repainted it. We thought she was going through mate withdrawals so Deuc had called Aiden, seeing how Stiles was holding up. He was fine though, if not a little depressed.”

“Efren, Dallas, Charles and I went out to the library, spent a week researching. We found something that sounded just like it, but we were so sure it couldn’t be it, so sure.” Ethan mumbled the last part scornfully, fisting his hands before Brooke covered them with one of hers. 

“It was the nogitsune.” Brooke told them tearfully. Talia and Peter gasped, while Laura took a step back with her siblings. 

“How did it…” Beatrice whispered hoarsely.

“She had been out looking for rings too, before Stiles had left. We don’t know the whole story, never found out. But that’s when she started acting like a stranger. The damn thing was trying to convince her that we hated her, that we were going to try to take Stiles and their baby away from her right after she gave birth. And she fought so hard, she really did. But she had been a runaway most of her life, so that left a bunch of opportunities for the bastard. And the worst thing was that it only attacked her while she was asleep, which is why she didn’t want to.” 

“My God,” Talia covered her mouth. Peter’s expression was grim as he laid a hand on his nephew's shoulder. Derek had hung his head a while ago and closed off his pack bond, so everybody was lost on what exactly he was feeling.

“Stiles came back, rings in his pocket, and the first thing he saw was Mckenna holding Kate up by her throat, a knife pressed into her stomach.” Brooke swallowed as her eyes went distant. “It was absolute chaos. Aiden had jumped in right away, getting Kate out of her grip and laying her on the floor while he took damage. But Mckenna only had eyes for Stiles. She was so far gone, had ran up to him and hugged him, showered him with all the love she had. But all he could see was how badly she had hurt us, Deuc had been poisoned with wolfsbane along with Marcus and Ethan. Kate was seriously injured and Charles was passed out. Dallas was in her wolf shift and she had six broken ribs and a torn hamstring.” Brooke shuddered. 

“Both of my knees had been broken and she had stuck a knife through my wrist so I couldn’t help at all. My reserves were completely empty. The last thing I remembered was Stiles’ expression, how he was just-” She choked on a sob, turning into Aiden’s shoulder as her body shook. 

Ethan crossed his arms, squeezing his eyes harshly before glancing up at them.

“I woke up. Stiles had healed us all, we were in the basement where all of our medical stuff is, and he had dragged down all of our mattresses so we wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. I was the last one to come to, and the only thing I could register was that I couldn’t feel Stiles anymore. His pack bond was still there, but it was empty. Completely numb and cold and it felt like he was dead, a shell of what it once was. We were all terrified and he wouldn’t _talk_. All he did was look at his hands with these dead eyes, and the worst thing was that we knew he hadn’t even shed a tear. Not one. His dad had tried to get him to submit and tell us what had happened, but all he did was give us this ugly, hollow smile. He told us that we lived, then went out to the woods. We couldn’t move, we were still too hurt. The only thing that we could hear was the shovel outside, digging up dirt right by the tree he and Mckenna had planted when she first joined us.”

Ethan finished, his eyes burning and throat convulsing. It was silent before Peter spoke up.

“He killed her and their baby?”

“ _No_ ,” Aiden growled, eyes flashing. “She took her own life. He was trying to get through to her, trying to talk her down so he could fix it. His claws were out because of his emotional instability. It was a response. He won’t tell me exactly what it was she said, but I could see her mouth moving. She smiled at him from where his hands were holding her face and neck and slipped the rings she had bought for them in his pocket. He tried to get the knife out, but she shook her head and started crying, apologizing over and over and telling him she loved him. Then she impaled herself onto the claws that were resting on her neck and forced them to cut her. Stiles tried to get them free, but she kissed his wrists, told him something, and died. She killed herself, no matter what Stiles tells you.” Aiden told them fiercely. 

The pack took it in, Scott, Allison, Laura, Talia, and countless others tearing up before Derek raised his head for the first time since they began telling the story.

“How can I help him?” He demanded, eyes red rimmed and glowing while his hands were clenched and dripping blood. 

“Derek…” Beatrice muttered softly.

“He’s my mate. He’s still grieving, I get that. But he’s still mine and I’ll take him in any way I can, it doesn’t matter if we’re just friends. I want, I need to-” He growled at himself, stalking off and punching a while as he hung his head. He took deep breaths, trying to calm the raging wolf that was alternatively whining and snarling. 

“I need to help him.” He told both packs in what he hoped was a stern voice. He knew he didn’t play it off when it came out desperate, pleadingly.

“Okay.” Brooke nodded. 

Brooke wiped her eyes, sitting straighter just as they heard the two approaching the house. Everyone turned, the Hale’s surprised to see how Stiles was clutching his stomach with one hand and chirping a joke in Patrick’s ear from where he was getting a piggyback ride. Patrick squeezed his legs as he shook his head, a beam on his face. He turned his head as he responded, Stiles gaping for a minute before letting out loud strings of laughter, the hand on his abdomen vibrating with the force of it.

As everybody wiped their eyes and tried to make themselves look presentable, Jackson spoke up.

“How is he still able to laugh? How is he able to function at all? I mean, he lost his mate and baby.” 

Aiden stood up, heading outside to meet them in the middle of the lawn. Brooke watched fondly as they began to bicker, Patrick backing up Stiles as he pointed a finger at Aiden. 

“Patrick. He’s Stiles’ anchor right now, and it’s good because they can’t hide anything from each other. He comes around our house every couple months or so, and by now we know not to ask. He’s there for a reason. Stiles leaves periodically, too. It works, and Stiles is almost as happy as he was before he met her.” Talia coughs, testing her voice one last time before they’d make it inside. 

“Not to seem cold or dismissive in any sort, but what are the chances Stiles will realize Derek is his other mate?” 

Derek peered at her also, returning to the seat he was on before the bomb dropped.

“Honestly?” Brooke gazed out the window, studying how Stiles and Patrick teamed up against Aiden, trying to pin each other to the ground. 

She met Derek’s eye straight on and smiled encouragingly. 

“I think he already has, subconsciously. It’s why he’s so nervous around you. Plus, knowing him it’ll probably seem like he’s cheating on Mckenna. He just needs to accept it. Although,” She smirked as she ran her eyes over his form. “We can help speed it along.” 

“Really?” Derek beamed back, hope sparking in his chest. Brooke nodded, winking as Stiles stumbled into the living room.

“Sorry ‘bout earlier, guys. I might've over reacted.” Stiles greeted them sheepishly, eyes light and voice breezy as he caught his breath. 

Cora watched him as the information they had been told sunk in.

“S’not a problem.” She assured him in a casual tone. “You'll just have to do my homework for me. It’s a five page paper due next week for my history class. I’ll slide it under your door later.” 

Cora smirked as his indignant shout and his pack’s chuckles reached her while she retreated to her room. 

She’d be damned if she let her brother’s mate sulk about his past when his future was quite literally in front of him.

After all, history was Derek’s favorite subject in high school and he didn't teach it for nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this was later than usual! What was supposed to be a nap turned into five hours gone. But, hey, is that some plot I'm seeing? Lol, tell me what y'all think!


	9. Wake up calls and Change of Plans

Stiles huffed, swallowing the chicken salad Talia had put together. He knew the Hale’s were acting weird, walking on eggshells around him, but he didn’t know _why_. Nearly everybody had been eyeing him every other minute or so and it was pissing him off. 

‘They told them about Mckenna’, his magic supplied for him. Before he could do anything, he was assaulted with flashbacks his spark fed into his mind. How his pack had not only betrayed him, but how the Hale pack, how the person his had fox yipped at him that Derek was his other mate, had done nothing to stop them. 

Did they not listen to him, anymore? Where had the trust gone? His heart began to pound, ears ringing as blood filled them. His shaky hands gripped the edge of the table, propelling himself up as he began to pace. His four rings glittered in the sunlight and his stomach sank.

_They’d know what these are, now._

Patrick stopped conversing with Erica, noticing the storm of emotions Stiles was projecting. He gasped when he looked over towards him. Stiles’ body was fading in and out, his eyes dilating as angry tears filled them. He’d crossed his arms around himself, looking like a wounded firefly trapped in a bottle.

“It was nice meeting you,” He grunted towards the blonde wolf. He went unnoticed as he flew up the stairs to Stiles’ room.

“Stiles?” Talia frowned while wiping her mouth. He didn’t turn to her, glaring harshly at his pack. Brooke opened her mouth, probably to ask what was wrong, but he solved that for her.

“You told them about Mckenna,” His heart lurched on her name, hating how they flinched as if _they_ were the ones who had been stabbed in the back. 

Aiden stood up slowly, mollifying. 

“Stiles, we didn’t say any-”

“Stop lying!” He bellowed, his magic snapping outward at anyone who tried to get close to him. His legs moved as he paced, growling warning when anyone tried to talk over him.

“I _apologized_ ,” He realized with a laugh full of self loathing. “Why? I have nothing to apologize for. I lost my family, the most prominent people in my life.” Stiles met both his pack and the Hale pack head on, fury causing his eyes to seem like the black of the night. 

“You should all be ashamed of yourselves." He took a couple deep breaths, trusting his magic to keep everybody away. "Brooke, I need to reconsider your placement.” He told her as he turned towards the stairs.

She flinched, nearly standing herself when both twins gripped her thighs and held her down.

“Stiles! We were trying to-”

“It doesn’t matter. You broke my trust. How can I give somebody I don’t trust the ability to command my unit?” He snarled back at her, physically holding back from pouncing.

“Stiles, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize at first where they were going with it and-” Allison tried to get through to him. His flashing eyes met hers and she could do nothing more than hunch over and look down, where Scott was holding her hand tightly, when his hateful eyes landed on her.

“I hate liars. Were the words ‘Stiles’ mate is dead’ not enough to clue you in?” His voice ended in a high pitched whine. “I trusted you, all of you. This was supposed to be fun, and I come back to realize that all it was was a- a ploy to get me to find someone else. Have you no empathy, any of you? I can’t believe how cruel my own pack can be.” His shoulders rolled in and nobody said anything until Patrick came back down, all of Stiles’ things in tow.

Stiles nodded his thanks as he took his bags, walking out the door.

“Where are you going?” Ethan asked in a meek voice.

“Somewhere where I feel comfortable falling asleep at night, knowing the people I surround myself with won’t back stab me the minute I’m out. I’m going home.”

Patrick glowered at Talia when she stood up, standing in front of the door so they couldn’t reach his retreating form.

“You’ve done enough. He’s obviously hurt already, you don’t need to rub salt in his wound.” He scanned the room until his eyes fell on Derek, who was watching the place Stiles had stood with a nauseous expression, swallowing down bile every few seconds.

“You.” Patrick snapped. He didn’t care that Derek didn’t look back at him, he knew he could hear damn well. “What kind of mate are you?”

Various growls broke up, the Hale’s filled with the need to defend one of their own. 

“Oh, don’t even,” Patrick chuckled dryly. “You know what I love most about the relationship with my mate? That it’s built on trust and consent. Patience and undying love the whole way through. She didn’t tell me about herself until our fourth year together, and when she did, I cried because of the feeling that came over me. The feeling that she trusted me so much, that she told me a piece of her she hadn’t told anyone before. I feel sorry for you, Derek. Stiles can potentially have one more mate, but he doesn’t need it to survive, like you do. If you all had just kept your nose in your own fucking business, you all could’ve seen something amazing.”

The silence reached a peak as Stiles yelled for Patrick to hurry his ass up. Patrick blinked, sending one last glare at them before he jogged outside. 

_“Stiles!” Mckenna laughed brightly, grinning even brighter. Stiles set her down gently from where he had been carrying her. His arms wrapped around her, his chuckle flowing into her ear as he hummed while faking obliviousness. She giggled, shoving him away playfully._

_“What are you doing?” She asked, trying to catch her breath as he opened his clenched hand. They both looked at it, a small seed and a needle. “What’s that for?” She asked curiously, tilting her head back to rest on his shoulder while gazing at him._

_“Do you trust me?” Her face softened, lips smiling his special smile._

_“Of course I do, you know that.”_

_“I just wanted to make sure,” He grinned while pecking her. His magic had dug up a small hole, just large and deep enough to ensure that the seed would grow._

_“Okay, hold this.” She cupped the small bean gently, watching him as he used the needle to prick himself, letting a couple of drops into the soil. Her eyes lit in understanding, excitement causing the breeze around them to pick up._

_“Do I do that, too?” She asked as she fell to her knees, getting closer to the hole. Stiles nodded as she dropped the seed and let her blood flow onto it, helping her up and healing her finger when she was close enough._

_“So what is it? Like, what’s going to happen?” She asked him eagerly._

_“It’s not going to do anything. It’s our tree, will grow with our blood urging it to and become one of the strongest ones out there. Plus, I added a little surprise factor in there. It's ours, so it's gotta be special. So I put in a dye that will change it's color.”_

_“It’ll live,” She muttered as she pulled him down with one hand, her eyes gleaming brightly with tears of joy as she realized what he was saying. “It’ll stay even when both of us are gone and it won’t be moved no matter what. I’ll make sure, because I’m clearly stronger than you, so my blood will have to do the most work which will ensure it can live and-”_

_Stiles cut her off with a laugh, kissing her to end her tirade._

_“Thank you,” Stiles whispered into her hair as she adjusted herself, her back relaxing against his chest. She hummed lightly, and together they watched as their magic began to help the plant grow._

Stiles came to just as Patrick was finishing a story. They had decided to hang out near one of the caves they had found earlier and had set up a small, makeshift camp.

“Patrick?” His friend stopped, cocking his head with a smile as he waited. “Do you think I made the right decision? I mean, I could’ve-”

“Nope. No ‘Coulda, woulda, shoulda’ while I’m around. We both know how you let your head get away from you.” He laid a hand on his shoulder, directly over the matching tattoo they both had. 

“What are you feeling, right now?”

“Other than depressed?” Stiles tried to joke. When Patrick didn’t give so much as a quirk of his lips, Stiles sighed and leaned back on his elbows as he gazed upwards. 

“I don’t know. Half of me is so… angry with them. They went behind my back and ultimately disrespected not only me, but her as well. They don’t even know the whole story, so how can they tell it, y’know? Who knows what they told them.”

“You do. Your magic showed you.” Patrick told him helpfully. Stiles snorted despite himself, shoving him over.

“On the other hand,” He continued. “I can see where they’re coming from. I know I haven't been as social as I was or how I don't laugh at the same things I did before. They just want me to be happy, I get that, I really do. It’s been almost three years now, and I’m still here, terrified to get close to anybody in a romantic sense. Even with my other mate in front of me, I’m so damn scared.” Stiles whispered. 

“That’s healthy, Stiles. When my mom found out my dad died, she was a mess. She tried to off herself so many times we had to put her in the hospital. You’re strong, Stiles. You’re doing everything you can, and that’s what matters.” 

Stiles nodded his head, snorting sarcastically as he felt a tear fall. Of course.

“Can I say something, though?”

Stiles waved a hand.

“You know how you felt when you and Mckenna realized you were mates. You know how strong the feeling is, how all you want to do is claim and love one another for the rest of your lives. How you would do anything to get on their good side. Hell, you even went to zumba class with her, Stiles.” Patrick chuckled as he picked off grass from his jeans.

“What I’m trying to say is, you felt that once, and you know how strong it is. Derek is all werewolf, Stiles. He feels it a lot more than you did when your magic found it’s other half. It’s his first time, though, man. He’s going through all this for the first time, and he’s doing really good with keeping his space.”

Stiles sighed deeply, running a hand down his face. His fox was nodding along with Patrick, giving him a somber look and puppy eyes as it whined and mewled softly. 

“He’s doing his best Stiles, and I know you’re hurting still, I can feel it. But in a way, this is your first time feeling it again, too. Marley hasn’t felt the mating call to the full extent because of how you don’t like to shift as much as use your spark. That’s fine, but you have to realize too that you’re neglecting him. He’s lost her too, Stiles, and although Mckenna wasn’t his mate, he still cared for her.”

Stiles was silent as let it sink in. Marley was rubbing up against his hand that he reached out subconsciously. Stiles smiled sadly as he purred at the touch, aching for more attention. His mumbled apology was met with a lick, then a light scratch against his cheek.

 _Yeah, that’s me in there, for sure._ Stiles grinned to himself.

“Stiles? You gotta tell me what you’re thinking, man. The last time I went into your head, I had to hug you for nearly three days straight. You really want that to happen again? I mean, I don’t mind personally, but-”

“Shut up,” Stiles chuckled. The sun was beginning to set and Stiles gazed at it thoughtfully. 

“Well?”

“What do you think I should do? You’re the only person I can ask, because you know me inside and out. Literally.” 

Patrick fell silent. When Stiles rolled his head to inquire him, he was met with soft blue eyes and a matching smile.

“I think you should let Marley out. He hasn’t been in a while, and it would give you some insight to see how he reacts to Derek in the flesh. Maybe you could ask him to let his wolf out, as well.” 

Marley positively yipped, running in excitement before tackling him in his mindscape, staring at him with imploring, pleading eyes. 

And, really. How could he say no to that?

“Alright, fine. Let’s do this.” Stiles told him as he stood up. Patrick beamed, already on his feet before Stiles could blink and tugging him along back towards the house.

“But we’re still going home, no matter what. I can’t be in the same room as them right now.” Stiles laid out in a firm, decisive tone. 

Patrick nodded eagerly. “Duh, I want to say hi to everyone. And I already yelled at them for you, too. You can skip that part. Or come back to it later, whatever you want to do.”

“Okay.” Stiles took a deep breath as the Hale house entered his vision, his gut squirming in both unease and anticipation.

“Okay, let’s go.”

They had been silent for hours, nobody willing to break the silence. Derek had reverted to staring at the blank TV, showcasing nothing, neither in the pack bonds or physically. Stiles’ pack had been in shock for the first hour, then began to try and hide the fact that they’d been tearing up. After that, Brooke had tried to reply to something Aiden mumbled and burst into tears. 

Nobody was in better shape.

Beatrice watched her family. Talia had sat down next to Derek, apologizing and comforting in equal turns as she hugged him to her chest. Cora had stayed in her room and Laura was gripping Jordan’s hand in a death grip as she breathed shakily.

The door slammed open, a determined Stiles stopping right in front of Derek, Patrick watching with a grin from the door. 

Derek’s head snapped up, eyes wide with disbelief even as they flashed in response to his mate in front of him. His hands clenched as he tried to gather the words he wanted to say, nearly having them when Stiles straightened and scrutinized him.

Nodding to himself, he stepped back.

“I want you to do something.” He told him in the softest voice he could manage. It wasn’t much with his pack practically projecting their sorrow and apologies behind him, but he could tell that Derek was aware of the effort.

“Anything.” Stiles held in a grimace. _Was this how he was acting when he had first met Mckenna? If so, damn. Ennis was right to leave the room._

“Are you able to release your wolf? I want to… try something.”

Derek’s eyebrows furrowed as his lips twisted in thought. He _could_ but his alpha’s approval was necessary. 

Talia nodded as she slid towards Isaac on the other side of the couch.

Derek shoved his gratitude towards her as he called for Orion. He was already front and center, though. His tail wagging as he paced hopefully. 

A second later, his wolf was beside him, nudging his knee with his large snout and nipping his hand in thanks. He was at least four feet tall, his coat a healthy black shine and his green eyes were gleaming with interest as he peered at his mate.

Everybody watched as it headed towards Stiles, who had witnessed the whole thing with interest and small hints of awe. Derek fought to keep his pride and smugness down. 

Orion approached him slowly, his tail wagging slightly. He stopped every couple of feet, sensing how skittish his mate was. 

Patrick coughed pointedly at Stiles, who was watching the wolf cautiously. His usual instincts were yelling at him to get away from the giant thing, but Marley growled at him warningly when he shifted his weight.

Stiles caught Patrick’s gaze, his own eyes wild with confusion.

“Stiles. You gotta let him out, remember? You wanted to see.” Stiles nodded curtly, inching backwards so he would have room. The wolf cocked his head as it observed with appraising eyes, but stayed where it was.

Marley had jumped out even before he could warn the fox to behave, presenting itself proudly at Stiles’ side. He wrapped himself around his right leg, purring loudly.  
Marley had obviously cleaned himself up, Stiles noticed with a wry grin. His red coat was less frazzled and wild than it usually was, and his tail was looking pretty damn soft. Marley sensed his interest and flicked his tail teasingly, smugly showing his canines.

“Jerk,” Stiles huffed in amusement. Marley nodded along sagely.

 _I take after you, obviously. Now stop talking, I want to see my mate._

Stiles rolled his eyes, waving his hand as he watched Marley prance towards the wolf.

Orion snorted, eyes going cross eyed as he tried to keep watch on the little fox. It’s head reached a couple inches below his shoulder, and it was using it to its advantage, nipping the end of his tail playfully while he examined the wolf, going in circles around him before darting in between his legs.

Derek watched silently, unsure what he should be feeling. His chest had loosened a little bit as he watched the animals interact. Marley obviously approved of Orion, had been pawing at his side and poking at his stomach when the wolf nearly got him pinned with his large paw.

“Well, he’s Marley approved.” Patrick confirmed. He slid his eyes to Stiles, who was watching with a smile mixed with defeat and joy.

“Fuck me,” He groaned. “Marley, c’mere.” The fox yipped, nudging Orion’s snout with his own before returning to Stiles, jumping onto his shoulder just because he could.

“Okay,” Stiles breathed. Derek watched hesitantly as Orion retreated to his side, running his hand through the thick coat.

“I’m still pissed at everyone, that didn’t change.” his heart sank as Stiles reminded him that yes, he did screw up. Really fucking bad.

“But,” Orion’s ears perked as his hand stilled momentarily. “Marley found his mate. Evidently.” Stiles snorted as the fox yipped his agreement, wrapping his tail around his neck. 

Stiles eyed Derek as he weighed his choices. He wouldn’t be the one to stop Marley from getting his mate. Mckenna had been his first love and he would kill himself before he forgot anything about her and their baby, but Marley was experiencing it for the first time. He wouldn’t stop himself from getting to know Derek because of his past. He wasn’t going to jump into his arms, by no means, but Derek could die if he didn’t have a mate. Patrick had reminded him of that and Stiles was furious that he had forgotten. He had already lost one mate by his own hands, he’d be damned if he lost his other one the same way.

Besides, mates could be friends, right? No need to go and bang like rabbits for nights on end to keep the man breathing. Just a pat on the back here, maybe a nudge there. Hell, he might end up hugging the dude a time or two.

Marley’s tail flicked his ear lobe impatiently.

“Okay, damn. You got no patience, you know that?” He could see Aiden ready to snark back as they usually did but Ethan had elbowed him in the ribs before anything could come out. 

He loved Ethan. He was pissed and hurt as hell, but he loved him.

“Derek,” he started, uncomfortable with how his stomach lurched when he noted the man hadn’t looked away from him at all. “I have an idea. Another compromise.”

“What is it?”

“I’m still going home, nothing’s changing about that. I need to be back in my room and in a familiar setting if I’m going to get anything done.” Derek’s shoulders hunched as he nodded shortly.

“Okay.” His eyes rolled on their own accord as Derek tried to get up, Orion growling at his human half lowly.

“Don’t you want to hear my ideas? I’m usually good at them, really.” He chose to pretend that Brooke didn’t snort. 

Derek nodded slowly.

“I want you to come with me. It’ll be just like we planned before, with both of our packs. You can bring a couple people and then we’ll head out. Plus it’ll give me a couple weeks, come to terms with what happened here and work something out with you.”

Talia pursed her lips as she considered. It _was_ a good idea, but she worried about how Deucalion would take it. Would he be upset if they sped up their plans? Then she recalled how he interacted with his pack, how Stiles was his son.

“I think it’s a good idea.” She told Derek. He grinned brightly at her, already standing up.

“Oh, thank the gods. Alright, let’s go. I want to get there by nightfall. We can get the other members tomorrow, someone will pick them up.” Stiles began to head towards Patrick, hesitating before stopping at the door. He peered at his pack, frowning at how they all had their heads bowed.

“Hey. You better live. I expect to see you in two weeks. We do still have work to do, regardless of what's happened here.” Brooke and the twins gaped at him before breaking out into small smiles.

Derek had jogged towards the stairway, debating what he really needed to take, when Cora intercepted him. She held out his duffel bag, scowling at him as she handed it over.

“You better come back, too. I don’t care if he’s naked and waiting on your bed, you still have responsibilities.”

Derek spoke through the faint blush on his face, dragging her for a quick hug.

“I will,” He promised. He could tell Stiles was beginning to get antsy, hightailing it back to the living room where he said all his ‘see you later’s and met up with the pair waiting for him. Stiles tossed a halfhearted farewell over his shoulder, sighing in relief when the door closed. 

“Alright, dude. I don’t know how this is going to work out, so we’ll play it by ear, I suppose. Have you ever been to Willowsville?”

“Never heard of it,” He proclaimed after thinking. “How far is it from here?”

Stiles hummed, thinking it over.

“Maybe thirty miles, give or take.”

“And you expect us to get there before tonight?” Derek asked incredulously. Yeah, he was in fantastic shape, but even he couldn’t do thirty miles straight.

“We’re not running, man. We’re just getting out of their range so we can teleport there.”

Derek mouthed it to himself, excitement beginning to weave into his bloodstream.

“You’ve never done it, have you?” Stiles asked with a knowing smirk. 

“Uh, no.” Derek admitted sheepishly.

“It’s fine. It’s really fast and smooth, and Stiles sometimes passes out right after, but it’s fine.” Patrick snickered when his friend turned towards him, hand on his heart with a stricken expression.

“Et tu, Patrick?”

“I guess so, man. If the shoe fits, yeah?” Stiles grinned, wiggling his foot mockingly.

“Yeah. Okay, this should be far enough.” Derek stood there, waiting for something to happen. Patrick gripped Stiles’ shoulder, smiling at Derek while glancing at Stiles’ arm.

“You need to be touching me for this to work, Derek.” He teased lightly, trying not to seem too pleased when Derek chuckled.

“I guess so, huh?” Derek placed his hand lightly on his forearm, vehemently shoving away the flare possessiveness and lust.

“Usually this works with everyone picturing where they want to go, but since you’ve never been there, you’ll just have to do something else.” Stiles hummed in thought, mouth turning in concentration. 

Derek watched as his eyes flashed, a realization that formed a triumphant smile on his beautiful face.

“I got it! Okay, so Patrick and I will picture it, and you just picture me. That should work fine, as long as you don’t think of anywhere else. Like Rio.” Stiles tossed a look towards Patrick who flushed.

“We good to go?” Derek tightened his grip slightly in confirmation. 

Patrick’s eyes dilated as he focused on where he was touching Stiles’ shoulder, his smile relaxed and carefree as he pictured the town. Stiles himself was sparking, little currents flowing from where Derek and Patrick were touching him and beginning to cover them all.

Derek memorized the picture, how his nose was scrunched up as he bit his lip, his eyelashes casting an elegant contrast on his otherwise pale face. He had no trouble picturing himself by his mate’s side, had been doing so since the get go. 

The next thing he knew, they’re standing outside a large house, laughter and playful growls coming from inside. It was a two story, but it stretched for what seemed like at least a mile and even further back. The driveway was long and led to a five car garage, although there were still some vehicles outside of it.

What he noticed was how Stiles seemed to deflate, all of the tightness in his back and shoulders relaxed, settled as he beamed at the house. Patrick was already running for the front door, and Derek let himself have a minute to panic before Stiles tugged on his arm.

“Hey, I’m not leaving you alone, dude. I know how it feels when you’re in a new territory, but it’ll be fine, I promise.” 

Stiles did his best to project his comforting vibes, mentally fist pumping when it worked.

“You ready to go in? ‘Cause, I’m not going to lie, I’m starving and it’s Charles’ turn to cook and the man makes a mean stir fry.”

“I could go for some stir fry,” Derek told him simply, face sporting a small smile. Stiles’ heart lurched, then again, although this time it was painful. 

_Gods, having two mates is so confusing._

“Great!” He chirped. “Let’s go find the good spots before Dallas and Kali hog them all.”

As Stiles led him towards the energetic greetings, he caught eye of the large, swaying purple willow tree, his throat constricting as he saw the two headstones underneath it.

“Derek,” Stiles sighed as he followed his eye. “I’ll answer your questions later, I promise. But, not now, okay? It’s been a really shitty day.”

Derek shook his head, meeting up with his mate by the door. 

“Of course. Whenever you’re ready and whatever you’re willing to share, I’ll be here.”

Stiles smiled sadly as he nudged him, another thanks falling from his lips before Kate pulled him into a headlock, rubbing her fist into his hair as she welcomed him back with a laugh.

Derek rolled his shoulders, ready to work for Stiles, and his mate’s pack, to accept him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry guys, I have a plan! I know this is going in all kinds of directions, but I'm hoping to wrap up some loose ends soon. As always, R&R and let me know at any time if you think there are any other warnings/tags I should add. Thank you for your support!


	10. The Pack Motto

He watched as Stiles was manhandled into the living room by several people, of which he recognized Efren, Austin, and Kensy. Stiles was going willingly, chatting and joking with them while his arms flailed around him.

A middle aged man sighed from beside him and he stopped himself from jumping. 

_When the hell did he get here?_

He subtly inched away, leaning his elbow on the counter and cocking his head towards the newcomer.

“So,” he began. “Does this happen often?” 

The man snorted, eyeing him out of the corner of his eye with an amused smirk.

“Stiles bringing home his second mate? No, I have to say it’s not often he does that.” 

Derek flushed lightly, smiling as he glanced at Stiles.

“Stiles is very important to our pack. He’s our brains, our heart. His father and I are mostly the brawn, but he has his own special set of skills that are invaluable.” 

They both watched as Kali hooked a finger underneath Stiles collar and tugged him towards her for a tight hug. He beamed at her, eyes going firm and face growing stern as he shot questions at her. Kali grinned fondly as she answered, taking his hand and placing it on her enlarged stomach. 

“How far along is she?” Derek wondered out loud.

“Eight months and some. The little pup will be here soon.” Marcus smiled at the thought, the heavy pitter patter of small feet running and sliding on the hardwood floors. 

“Wow.” Derek lifted his head to ask what the gender was, when a loud shriek came from down the hall.

Stiles laughed as Patrick ran out, Ellen on his heels and reptilian tail out as she snarled threats after him.

“She’s a kanima? How is she in control?” He studied her carefully, grinning despite himself when her tail shot out and tripped Patrick. 

“Stiles trained her. Ever since he’s found the balance between his spark and shift, he’s been able to help countless others.”

“Huh.” 

Stiles beamed as Ellen began to drag Patrick towards him, glower on her face as she dropped him off at his feet and pointed an accusing finger at him.

“I said I wanted you to come back, not the bear!”

“Well, honey” Stiles snickered when her eyes narrowed at the pet name. “There was a situation back at the Hale house and I needed my anchor with me.”

“Situation?” Marcus stepped away from Derek and headed towards him with a questioning frown. “What happened?”

“Brooke and the twins told a story that wasn’t theirs to tell.” He responded simply, grinning at Kali’s stomach when the baby kicked his hand.

“They told them about Mckenna.” Marcus sighed, sitting on the recliner and slumping over as he rested his chin in his hand, gazing at his alpha’s son.

“Yeah. The whole thing, too. How we met, when she joined the pack, her death. Everything. I just needed to get away from there, y’know?” Stiles murmured while rubbing her stomach.

Ellen sighed, retracting her tail and stepping over Patrick to hug him.

“Honestly, they’re more idiotic than I thought they were going to be. But, Stiles.” She waited patiently until he glanced up at her, hating that the vulnerability he tried so hard to hide was peeking around the edges.

“You know all they want is to see you happy again, right?” 

She continued at his short nod.

“One of them is the second in your unit and the others are your best friends. Although I don’t know why, because Aiden is the biggest ass I’ve ever met in my life and Ethan is way too innocent to understand your jokes.” 

“I second that,” Dallas raised her hand from the kitchen island, the other one flying across the keypad on her phone.

“The point is, we all want you to be happy and laugh like you did before. You’ve been mourning them for years, Stiles. And we get that, we really do. Hell, I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling. If I lost my mate and baby I would’ve gone mad. It’s a miracle you can even wake up and deal with it every morning, dude, much less with a smile on your face.”

“I’m trying.” He shrugged, uncomfortable with the subject. His eyes met Derek’s from across the room and he could feel Marley perk up with interest, wanting to socialize with him. The man was looking at him seriously, mouth turned in a frown and eyes stern as he nodded with what Ellen was telling him. 

Once Derek noticed that he was looking at him, he offered him a small smile full of understanding. Stiles offered a hesitant one back, although he isn’t sure what it looked like.

“You get that we’re all excited, right? I mean, the things you used to do before, man. You nearly got arrested for indecent exposure!” Ellen giggled as she ignored the burning behind her eyes. 

“That was an accident! How was I supposed to know that I was on the private property of the sheriff?” Stiles lifted his nose as he glared at her.

“You weren’t, that’s the joy of prank wars.” Jason chuckled.

“So you can see why we’re all anxious, Stiles. You found your other mate and I know that nobody can ever replace Mckenna or your baby, but you found someone that might make you half as happy as you were with her. And that’s way happier than you are right now. Brooke is loyal to a fault, she knew you were struggling and she saw someone who might be able to help with that so she threw caution to the wind.”

Stiles sighed as he sunk into the chair. Kali rubbed his shoulder as he mulled it over.

Brooke was really impulsive, almost as much as he was. And Aiden had told him time and time again that he had another mate who could help him out. But he hated the feeling, how helpless and alone he felt despite how many people he surrounded himself with. Everywhere he looked. he saw happy couples and families without a care in the world. He had that once, and without it he felt so lost, adrift in a world which required a partnership of some sort. Nobody could live without it, even if it was just one person who knew them inside out.

He had Patrick, sure, but he had a family. A wife and three cubs back in Romania He knew he couldn’t keep calling him when he hit a low, but until recently he had no one else. 

Then Derek came in the picture.

Stupid Derek, with his innocence and good intentions and understanding patience. His eyebrows which spoke a language of their own and his body that drew Stiles’ attention over and over despite how he tried to keep his distance. Never mind the eyes that held so many secrets and hidden passions in them. Don’t get him started on his dumb smile, either. He didn’t have the time or patience to talk about his bunny teeth and dimples.

But Marley had convinced him during his little... check in of sorts. The fox practically lived in his thoughts now, picking away and sorting them until Derek would pop up all of a sudden, stubbornly holding onto the idea of him until Stiles grudgingly agreed with his fox that yes, Derek was attractive, and yes, he did realize they were mates and this was his second chance. 

“Stiles?” Anya prodded from where she had crouched in front of him. 

“I’m not going to apologize for what I told them before I left, but I can admit that I might’ve… been harsher to Brooke than I should’ve been.” He confessed reluctantly.

Anya’s eyes narrowed as she tapped her chin.

“What did you tell her?”

“That I had to think about her placement in my unit…”

Nearly everyone did a double take.

“Stiles,” Ellen started with a disapproving frown.

“I know,” he groaned. “But I was just in the moment, you know? And she has to know that she’s the strongest one in my unit besides me. Hell, I let her train people when I’m away!”

“You should talk to her.” Ellen suggested, although he could see the warning in her eyes.

“I will. I was planning on talking to them tomorrow, once I get my thoughts straight. It blindsided me.” Stiles shrugged as he bit his lip, focusing on how his bonds were flooded with understanding.

“What do you mean tomorrow?” Efren asked as bit into his sandwich. 

“Well, we had it all planned out already, right? It’s just happening sooner than we thought because of the, erm. Incident.”

Derek accepted the water bottle Ennis offered, nodding in thanks as he took a sip. 

“Hey, Hale.” He choked on the water as Kali acknowledged him. Ennis cackled while he continued the hand thumping on his back. He blushed once he regained his composure.

“Yeah?” He asked hoarsely.

“Who are you picking?” She asked curiously. Stiles blinked, as if he realized he didn’t know who he was picking up to bring to his pack’s home. 

“Um, I was thinking one of my sisters and Boyd.” He responded after a moment of thought. Either one of his sisters could keep him in line and Boyd was his best friend. 

“Sounds good to me.” Stiles accepted easily.

“And what about my opinion?” Derek tensed as Deucalion walked in through the door, both hands filled with bags as Thomas trailed after him with more. 

“Hello, Derek. I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but welcome to our home.” He smiled at him as he set the bags on the counter, heading towards Stiles to give him a pat on the shoulder.

“Stiles. I thought you were to stay at their house for a couple more weeks, yet.”

“That was until Brooke and the twins told the Hale’s about Mckenna.” Stiles answered tiredly. He was getting sick of repeating himself. 

“Oh?” 

“I already have everything planned, pops. Nothing to worry over.” Stiles stood and stretched, heading over to Derek. Once he was close enough, he took his wrist in his and began towing him upstairs to the guest room. 

“Where are you going?” Ellen shouted after them.

“I need a nap and I’m sure Derek doesn’t want to deal with your shit so I’m showing him his room!” He shouted back with a smirk in Derek’s direction. 

“What about Patrick!” 

Stiles sighed, giving Derek a look that read ‘See what I have to deal with?’ as they stopped in the revealed hall at the top of the stairs. 

“I don’t know! You paralyze them, you deal with them!” He responded. “No hurting him, though!”

When no reply came, he sighed in relief and nodded towards the hall.

“I’m going to give you the quickest tour you’ve ever had, man. So take notes.”

Derek held in a smile as he nodded seriously.

“Of course.” Stiles eyed him before grinning.

“You’ve got some humor hidden under the brows, huh?”

Derek’s eyebrows came together as he frowned in confusion. Stiles held back a laugh.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing. Anyway, first door on the left belongs to Anya and Kensy, everyone here is mostly mated by the way, then on the right there’s Kate and Marcus. Halfway down there it’s Austin and Caitlynn’s on the right and Brooke and Aiden across from them. I’m the last one on the right and the guest room is across from mine. Lucky you, eh?”

“Yeah, lucky me.” Derek repeated while staring at Stiles’ bedroom door. He could smell the misery from here. He wondered how his pack had dealt with it when all he wanted to do was bring Stiles closer and cuddle him until he fell asleep, then stay up and watch him to make sure he had no nightmares. 

_That’s not creepy at all._ He scoffed at himself. _Slow approach, the only thing we want to do right now is get to know him better._

“You good, man? You’re looking kinda broody over there.” 

Derek looked up and was surprised Stiles was peeking out from what would be his room.

“Yeah, I’m good. Just wondering what my sisters have already done to my room.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t think about that. I nearly went insane with all the what if’s.” Derek followed him in after he waved his hand, eyes widening as he glanced at his temporary room.

The full bed was covered in a dark crimson comforter, matching sheets peeking out from the bottom and the pillows and laying across the bed elegantly. The walls were a light grey with a large window looking out at the front yard. There was a futon on the opposite wall from the mounted TV with two pillows and a throw blanket. 

“It’s not much, but I’m sure you could fit both your sister and Boyd in here. We have some air mattresses too that’ll fit in here and leave you all enough space to walk around.”

Derek turned to him incredulously. 

“This is the size of our kitchen.” He informed him.

Stiles’ mouth split into a lopsided smile.

“Well, you should be comfortable then.” He peered at his room as he bit his lip, contemplating whether he should invite his guest to see it. It wasn’t anything special by far. Black and white paint on every other wall with blue shelves hung up on the black ones and maps with tacks pinned through them on the white ones. His books lay peacefully on the shelves with his love seat under the bay window facing the backyard. 

He sighed as he heard Marley telling him to open his damn door and let their mate see.

Before he could open his mouth, Derek interrupted him.

“You don’t have to show me if you’re not comfortable. It’s your space, you shouldn’t be forced into showing it to people you hardly know.”

 _There he goes again, damn it._ Stiles mentally glared at the wall as his respect for Derek went up.

“It’s fine. It’s nothing special, though.” He sent his spark through the door as he opened it, smiling to himself as he noted the lock system was going strong. 

Derek walked in after a moment, running his eyes over the place as Stiles watched him from the chair by his desk. A frame from his mating day was hung up by his bed along with the second ultrasound of his baby, and he watched curiously to see how Derek would react. 

To his surprise, he inched his finger towards it before stopping himself and looking at him questioningly. 

“Go ahead.” He muttered, watching him carefully.

Derek ran his finger gently across the glass. The woman was gorgeous, all porcelain skin and gleaming hazel eyes. Her smile took up half her face as the sun fell on it, head thrown back on his shoulder as she laughed at something Stiles had told her. He had both arms wrapped around her waist, holding her hands in his with their fingers woven together. His head was resting on her shoulder, beaming lips touching the side of her neck as he watched her with gentle eyes. 

_They were in love._ He realized. It was something for somebody to tell him, but to see it was completely different. His stomach clenched as he saw the frame beside it.

The ultrasound was framed by a wooden border, obviously homemade by the little wards carved into it. The picture showcased the baby and he smiled at the pose. The baby had one arm close to it’s chest and the other pointing at the camera, what looked like a small smile on the face. There was writing scribbled onto the blue paint, and he took a breath before reading it. 

Our Baby Boy!  
May you grow up as handsome and intelligent as your father and as loving and courageous as your mother.

His stomach clenched as his heart sank. He couldn’t even imagine the pain Stiles’ had been through. Losing both his mate and his baby in the same moment, with limited memories and pictures to remember them by. His eyes burned and he let his hand fall to side as he tried to put himself together.

Stiles was so strong, to be able to go on when-

“Are you crying?” Stiles asked, bemused. “Why are you crying?” 

Derek chuckled wetly, rubbing his eyes with his hands as he shrugged. 

He could feel Stiles’ eyes on him, but he wouldn’t say what he was thinking. After all, he’s sure the man has heard the words enough to last him a lifetime.

He made his way to the love seat, cocking his head towards it for permission before he sat. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Stiles.

“She’s beautiful.” He told him once his thoughts had dulled to a whisper. 

“She was the most stunning thing I’ve seen.” Stiles agreed as he faced the window, where the willow was waving back serenely. 

It was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again.

“James. We were going to name the baby James. I was dubious at first. It was the name of the lead omega we had killed together when we first met. Why would I want to name my son after a man I killed?” He chuckled hollowly, pulling a leg to his chest as he wrapped his long arms around it, gripping it tightly.

Derek stayed silent, staring at the tree with him.

“But then she told me- told me that we should be thankful for him. That we wouldn’t have met if it hadn’t been for him. She would’ve been killed and I would’ve been struggling with my spark and fox, trying to find the perfect in between. But he solved that for us, she had told me. And it- it made sense. The more I thought about it, the more thankful I was.”

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, tucking his face against his knee as he took deep breaths.

“We would’ve lived,” Stiles quoted once his throat had loosened. “She told my dad that, once. We were ambushed by a pack of feral wolves, most of which were alphas. We had killed most of them, there were only two left and we had the advantage. And then one of them got to her, clawed up her side to make sure she couldn’t get away and then held her up in front of him. He had his claw pointed, right at her lung. The sick bastard wasn’t just threatening death, he was threatening to make it slow, painful. To torture her as her lung collapsed.”

Derek dug his hands into his thighs, biting his tongue and ignoring the blood that flooded his mouth as he fought the whines itching to be released. The instinct to gather Stiles in his arms and hug him, comfort him. 

“Just as I was about to offer myself instead, she used the last of her magic to lower his hand before she elbowed him. We took the chance she offered us, they tore him apart while I took in her damage. He hadn’t hit her lung, but she was bleeding really badly and her stomach had a nasty stab wound from his claw. My dad came to help heal her, scolding her. And what did she do? She told my dad we would’ve lived.”

He laughed brokenly as he clutched his leg tighter.

Derek was on his feet before he could stop himself, sitting next to him as he wrapped his arms around his shaking frame. 

Stiles stiffened for a minute, his whole body tense as he took in what was happening.

Derek held his breath. 

Then Stiles just… fell. Gave in. He leaned into Derek’s touch, utterly boneless as he sobbed and screamed and gripped the back of his shirt, shouting through his tears the unfairness of everything, how he could’ve fixed it if he hadn’t gone on the damn mission. How she would’ve been alive if he had been strong enough to protect her. And his baby. He would’ve been a dad, right now. With a two year old son who would’ve been driving the pack crazy and receiving all the love a two year old could dream of. 

Derek continued to hold him, ignoring his own tears as he rocked them back and forth and held on tighter. He didn’t know anything about how to comfort somebody, usually made it worse by talking so he kept his mouth closed. He seemed to be doing okay, though. Stiles’ sobs turned into cries, then the occasional whimper or whine before dying out and fading into shallow breaths. 

Derek stilled as he heard Stiles’ heart and breathing settle into sleep. Listening for a moment to ensure there weren’t signs of nightmares, he carefully pulled away from him. Stiles’ grasp tightened on his shirt and Derek held in a troubled groan.

What did he do in this situation?

“You can leave him on the bed,” Deucalion answered his internal question. Derek sat up straighter, ignoring his protesting neck muscles as he turned his head as far back as he could.

“It’s not what it-”

“I know,” The man chuckled warmly. His eyes seemed a little misty, he noted. “Don’t worry about waking him up. When he’s had a day like this, he’s out the whole night.”

Derek nodded, following his instructions and untangling the arms wrapped around him as gently as he could. Stiles’ grumbled a protest. His eyes softened and he let his hand linger longer than necessary on his forehead as he pushed his hair back. 

Once he had the man under the blanket and in a -hopefully- comfortable position, he glanced towards Deucalion.

“Come on, I want to have a small chat with you.” He nodded his head to the hallway while he held the door opening.

Whatever he’d seen on his face must have amused him, because he let out a fond sigh.

“It’s nothing bad, Derek. You have my word.”

“Okay.” Derek nodded, standing hesitantly and making his way towards his mate’s father. 

Deucalion led him back downstairs, where everyone was watching him with either small grins or scrutinizing eyes. He didn’t focus on how their eyes matched Deucalion’s. 

The man led him towards a weighted door towards the other end of the house. Once he opened it, Derek found it to be an office.

“Have a seat.” He remembered his mother’s etiquette classes and waited for him to sit first, hiding his smile as Deucalion nodded his approval with a light toned ‘Polite’.

“Alright, Derek.” He began as soon as Derek had took his own seat across from him. “I think it’s time we get a few things out of the way in concerns to my son, yes?”

 _Here we go, time for the shovel talk._

Derek rolled his shoulders back, nodding his head firmly as he paid attention.

Deucalion studied him, tilting his head slightly as he ran his eyes over his face. Finally, he pulled out a sheet of paper.  
He recognized the title and couldn’t help the surge of hope that filled him. 

_What are you thinking, Deucalion?_ He thought excitedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this is late, I'm on vacation right now and didn't see that it didn't post before I left. Sorry for the angst, also, but this is a Sterek stepping stone... of sorts! Thank you for all your support and continued interest! Let me know what you think! xoxo


	11. By Mutual Agreement

“You have the potential to make my son happy again. With that, however, comes the risk that you break him more than he already is, beyond repair. He’s already tried leaving us more than a dozen times over the years, if you catch my drift.”

Deucalion waited patiently, scanning the man in front of him as he cut off his sub-vocal, whiny growl. 

“I’m sure you’ve heard this already, so I won’t bore you. Patrick pulled him away from some of his depression and darker thoughts, but Stiles is far from healthy. He’s at a precarious balance, where he’s able to socialize and put on a smile when it’s needed then isolate and train by himself for days on end until he passes out.”

“How often does that happen?” Derek pressed cautiously after a moment of silence. 

Deucalion peered at him, lips pursed and smile tight. 

“Too often. Which is why I wanted to talk to you.”

“I can’t talk him into or out of anything, and even if I could, I wouldn’t do that to him. I already started off on the wrong foot, I’m not taking the chance of letting him down again.” He responded firmly.

“It’s not a decision you would have control over. What do you take me for, Mr. Hale? Besides, we both know how bull headed my son can be. Very rarely can _I_ talk him out of something, and I’m his father and alpha.” Deucalion chuckled. Pulling out the paper, he slid it towards Derek while resting an elbow on the table.

Derek read over the title again, feeling slightly better he wouldn’t be asked to do anything that would place him on Stiles’ bad side. Well, more on his bad side.

_Stilinski’s Supernatural Boot Camp_

Underneath the heading, there were five lines in which the pack Alpha would recommend some members to be admitted into the camp. Derek had heard of it before, from one of his old friends in his college days. All he knew was that his once wimpy werewolf friend had gained muscles to rival his own and a new control that Derek himself fought to have some days. Not only that, but the guy was practically a ninja with how Derek couldn’t sense him, only to be scared shitless when he popped up out of nowhere. 

Safe to say, he wanted in. He just didn’t know that it was _Stiles_ who was the director of it. Now that he thought about it, it made sense that his mate would be interested in something that resolved around helping others. Besides, he’s heard that he was extremely picky when he chose who got in. Nearly every pack he had been in contact with either had someone who got denied or had to leave early because of the intensity of it.

His wolf purred at the challenge and Derek pushed away the urge to smirk.

“So. What do you think?” Deucalion asked once Derek met his eyes. By his tone, the man already knew what he thought. He just wanted to hear it.

“I think it’s a good idea. I’ve heard a lot about it, mostly from the ones who dropped out, but I had a friend who benefited a lot from it.”

Deucalion’s lips turned into an approving grin.

“Fantastic. I want you to give this to your mother when you pick up your friends tomorrow. The only way Stiles will even consider it is if it’s signed by both your alpha and her second.”

“Why both?”

“Some alpha’s ignore what their second’s have to say and override them with their higher status. That happened one time while Stiles and Brooke were out scouting. Stiles said some words of choice, the alpha of the pack kicked them out, and they returned with Thomas.” He shrugged, reaching over to take a sip from his flask. 

“Don’t you want to know who I chose to stay with me?” Derek asked incredulously.

“If you want to tell me, go for it. Otherwise, I’m sure Stiles will let me know before you arrive.”

“How would he-” He snapped his mouth shut as Deucalion tapped his temple, small smile in place.

“Right then. I have to make a phone call to your mother, make sure she knows what we’ve been discussing. You know the way out, I presume?”

Derek nodded, grabbing the sheet after the pointed look at it, and headed out the door.

“Derek.”

Tensing instinctively, he paused with one foot out the door.

“Stiles hasn’t talked about them in a long time. It’s why he’s stuck, he keeps everything in his head. You got him to talk about it with you in less than a week. That means something, even if he’s not ready to fully admit it just yet.”

Heart warming and eyes softening, Derek offered a small nod as his shoulders relaxed.

“That’s all I want. To help him, I mean.”

“I know. Now, off you go.” He waved him off playfully and Derek couldn’t hide his grin as he headed towards the guest room. 

Dallas and Caitlynn intercepted him, each grabbing an arm and tugging him towards the rest of the pack in the living room. 

“What-”

“Nope. We’re going to play twenty questions. You only get five.” His mouth shut as he was led to an empty love seat and shoved into it. He recognized the look on their faces and mentally sighed, categorizing them in the ‘Overprotective Sister’ category he knew his own siblings could get into.

Once they saw him getting comfortable, they retreated to their own spots. Thomas eyed him from over Dallas’ shoulder, who had plopped onto his lap without a care. 

“So, Derek. What are you-”

“Hey!” Ellen pointed a finger at him with a scowl. “Who said you could start this thing off? We agreed on going clockwise!” Thomas scoffed while he sat back, glaring at her halfheartedly. 

Kali coughed from the recliner, covered in blankets and putting the remote down from where she had paused the TV. Ennis leaned onto his elbows resting by her head, shifting behind the chair. 

“What kind of education do you have?” 

Derek’s wolf perked to attention as they began. _This is a chance for bonding_ , he whispered to Derek. _Gain their approval_. 

“I have a doctorate in architecture and bachelor in history. I teach at the high school during the school year and take requests during the summer.”

Kali nodded her head appreciatively. “So you’re hard working then.”

“Last summer I helped to build over four houses and design over a dozen for people around the area.” He added.

“What do you do for fun?” Ennis asked while playing with Kali’s hand.

Derek thought for a moment. 

“I do a lot of hiking and exploring. Anything outdoors, really. I like to read when I have the time and hang out with my pack. I’ve been trying to teach myself how to play the piano, but it kind of broke.” He trailed off sheepishly. 

“Broke how?” Caitlynn asked.

“I, uh. May have gotten a little too enthusiastic?” 

Chuckles floated across the room while he grinned through his embarrassment. 

“Have you dated before?” Ellen shot after a moment of studying him.

“Does a 7 minute rendezvous in a middle school closet count?” 

He was pleased at how that got them to laugh, his wolf nodding at him with an excited flick of his tail.

“You’re funny,” Dallas smiled. “I like that.”

“Thanks. When do I get my questions?” Ellen cackled, slapping Jason’s shoulder beside her as he cracked a smile.

“Go for it, dude. Make it a hard one.” 

“Right. What makes Stiles’ camp so hard?”

“His training one?” Kali perked up.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, man. It’s not hard, per se. It’s just that he-”

“Will most likely experience it, so don’t give anything away.” Marcus cut her off as he walked in from the kitchen. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, Deuc already gave him the form to give to Talia, so you lot shut your traps.” He chuckled as they all muttered grumpily, only perking up when Charles threw a knife at the target above the TV. 

Derek jumped, turning to stare at the older man with wide eyes. Charles chuckled, eyes twinkling as he watched him.

“You get scared easily, son?”

“When a knife gets thrown over my head in the middle of a conversation, yes, I do get surprised.” He huffed, trying to calm his heart rate.

“Don’t you live with wolves? Wait, aren’t _you_ a wolf?” Jason asked with a puzzled frown. Derek flashed his eyes at him in response.

“Huh. I’ve never met a wolf who doesn’t have a good sense of their surroundings.”

“I do have a good sense of my surroundings.” He grumbled as they laughed, turning around to face Charles.

“Why’d you do that, anyway?”

“It helps to keep our self awareness strong and alert.” 

“It was Stiles’ idea.” Caitlynn chirped.

“What isn’t his idea?” Kali muttered. A moment later, her breath hitched and a loud curse fell from her lips. Ennis jumped into action, rushing to the kitchen to grab a bottle full of a hazy pink liquid while the others near her touched her arms and shoulders, draining her pain. 

“What happened-” Derek began, only to choke on his words as Stiles appeared in front of Kali, clothed only in a thin shirt and black joggers that hung ow on his hips. His eyes were fierce as they studied her, his palm on her stomach to check on the baby while he shot questions at her.

“Kali, what is it? Is it the baby? Should I get the bag in the car? Holy shit, it’s time. Ennis, why the fuck aren’t you-” Kali huffed, torn between amusement and annoyance.

“Stiles, chill out. They’re practice contractions, that’s what the doctor told me.” Stiles’ face morphed into one of confusion.

“Practice contractions?”

“Yeah, I think they’re called Braxton hicks or something. It’s fine, honestly. I just gotta drink that thing you made me.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes as he felt around her stomach, only stopping when the baby kicked his palm.

“Fine. I’m going with you guys for the next appointment.”

“There won’t be one until she’s born.” Ennis supplied with a sigh.

Stiles glared at him until he held up his palms, agreeing with an exasperated nod.

“Good. Fuck me, why would you wake me up like that? I thought she was dying or something.” 

Derek watched as Stiles stumbled towards the spot next to him, ignoring the need to puff his chest out. As it was, Stiles hardly looked at anything at all, his eyes were half lidded and he barely made it next to him before he collapsed with a heavy sigh. He squirmed around for a bit, huffing in annoyance as he seemingly gave up.

Stiles glanced at him, eyes weary before a yawn forced them shut. 

“Do you mind if I…” He did a small leg shake, unsure how to continue the sentence. 

“Eloquent.” Ellen smirked as she stretched. Stiles glared at her as he crossed his legs and placed them above Derek’s lap, looking at him to make sure it was okay.

Derek rolled his eyes, making sure he could see it as he took his legs and planted them across himself.

Stiles grinned back at him sinking into the couch as he craned his head towards the kitchen. 

“Dad!”

“What?” He yelled back from his office. Stiles frowned, changing his direction as tried again.

“What’s the plan for tonight?” 

“I refuse to train today, Stiles.” Thomas told him sternly. Stiles narrowed his eyes, sitting up on his elbows as he prepared to snark him.

“Actually, Stiles.” Stiles and the rest of his pack tensed, whether it was in anticipation or caution, Derek didn’t know. He tried getting a feel for their emotions, but they were all blank.

“I would like to speak with you in private. And Derek, also.” 

The rest of the pack was gone in a flash, their teasing cackles following them into the trees behind the house. Deucalion stepped out from his office, wiping his hands on a small towel he then tossed onto the counter.

“Uh, you sure you want me in this?” Derek asked as Stiles moved himself into a sitting position.

“Of course. I have an idea that could really benefit both Stiles and yourself.”

Stiles opened his mouth to protest. If this was about the mate thing again, he already had a plan. Marley wouldn’t shut up about it until he told him. Surprisingly, the fox agreed with him. 

“No interruptions, Stiles. Just hear me out, hm?” With a scrutinizing frown, he leaned back against the couch. 

“Good. Now, Derek. I’ve heard that all the were’s in your pack are able to fully shift, yes?”

“With my alpha’s permission, yes.”

“Have you ever fought along side your wolf? Or do you just take their form?”

Derek frowned, leaning forward on his elbows. 

“I didn’t even know that was possible.”

“Of course it is. Stiles here has mastered that, along with the rest of us. Although he's the only one who can teach it.”

“Stiles also doesn’t do that anymore.” Stiles grumbled. Deucalion studied him briefly, nodding to himself as he continued.

“I think I have a plan that would help not only you two, but both of our packs, as well.”

“And that is…” Stiles waved a hand. His father flashed his eyes at him as he leaned forward, elbows resting on his crossed legs.

“Derek, I have an assignment for you. I spoke to your mother and she agreed as well, although she made it clear that I was to listen to your decision and not her own.”

“Dad, he doesn’t even know what those-” Derek nudged his shoulder, nodding at Deucalion to continue.

“Right. Anyway, Derek, before we were rudely interrupted.” Stiles stuck out a tongue at his father’s look. “My idea is this. Stiles hasn’t let Marley out in years, and since I heard he let him out recently, I pinpointed the cause to you.” 

He held up a hand as they both began to speak. 

“I’m sure that Marley, and by extension Stiles, isn’t as strong as he once was due to all the time that’s passed. Meanwhile, his spark is perfected, tweaked and toned as Stiles wished it to be. Derek, you have a very strong connection with your wolf, but you haven’t trained on working together, yes?”

Derek nodded the affirmative, having an idea where this was going.

“Great. Really, you and Stiles are opposites in that sense. So, here’s my suggestion. As Stiles’ next camp is going on, which is in a couple days, give or take, you both train together. You teach Stiles how to strengthen the bond with Marley, and once that’s accomplished he’ll teach you how to fight alongside your wolf. Knowing him, it won’t take long at all for their trust and camaraderie to rekindle. But as I said before, it’s your decision to make, Derek.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Stiles asked, nails digging into his palms.

“You do. It’s a decision you and Derek have to make together. But you know it would help you, Stiles. Don’t just answer without thinking.”

“Fine.” He stood up and headed towards his room, pausing when he didn’t hear any footsteps following him. He looked over his shoulder at Derek, who was watching him with a blank face.

“You coming?”

“Do you want me to?” He shot back instantly. Stiles nearly groaned. People who snarked back at him was one of his weaknesses. 

“Yes, Derek. I wouldn’t of stopped and asked if I didn’t want you to.” 

Derek nodded, getting to his feet as they made their way to his room.

Once in there, Stiles flopped onto his bed and waved a hand towards the desk chair as the other covered his face.

They sat in silence, Derek watching him as he lightly spun himself from side to side.

Finally, Stiles sat up and leaned against his headboard.

“I want to hear your thoughts.” He told him firmly.

“Fine,” Derek nodded as he stilled. “Right after you tell me yours.”

“Oh my goddess,” Stiles muttered. “It’s going to be like this, isn’t it?”

“Doesn’t have to be.”

“But it will, because we’re both stubborn assholes.”

“I suppose we are.” Derek smiled at him. Stiles ran a hand through his hair. Perking up, he rolled to the side of the bed and reached under, pulling out a storage box filled with empty notebooks and writing utensils.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.” He told him as he got situated. “We’re going to make a good ol’ pro and con list. That never did anybody wrong, right?”

“I guess,” Derek shrugged, moving his chair closer so that he could rest his arm by Stiles’ leg.

“I’ll go first. Con: Who knows how long this would take if we agreed. We belong to different packs, and one of us might need to leave for something or another.”

“Time isn’t an issue because of how close our packs are, distance wise. Besides, we’re in the middle of a trial alliance to see if it would work long term, right?”

“Fine. You go.” Derek snorted when he noticed how he didn’t cross it out with pen, grinning at him when he cocked an eyebrow.

“Pro: We would get to spend more time with one another. Our packs would be exposed to each other more often, too.”

“Con: I’d be training people other than yourself, and even though you might be with them, I won’t choose favorites and help you more than them.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to do that. Pro: Bonding.”

“Con: People are known to grow annoyed with other people when they stay with them for more than a couple days, doesn’t matter how strong their friendship is.”

“Pro: We’ll learn how to get over our differences and with that grow a sturdier foundation and enhance the trust.” He plucked the pen from Stiles’ hand, grinning at his affronted grunt and wrote his idea in the pro section. 

“So far it’s even. What’s the big thing that’s bothering you, Stiles?”

When he didn’t reply, Derek sighed and rolled his shoulders, slouching over to look a little bit smaller in hopes it would help his mate feel more comfortable.

“I’ll tell you then. The big thing that’s bothering me is that I’ll be away from home for a while. The longest time I’ve been separated from my alpha was for camp in middle school. It lasted for a week and I came home the third day because my wolf was growing aggressive due to it’s anxiety.”

Stiles stared at him with an open mouth, eyes wide with surprise. 

_Well, wasn’t expecting that one._

He coughed, gripping a pillow and hugging it to his chest as he avoided the wolf’s intense gaze.

“I don’t like showing weakness. Especially to someone who we don’t have an established alliance or contract of some sort with. It makes me feel too vulnerable and with that comes the risk that I could get hurt or held hostage in some way, shape, or form that would influence my pack. I don’t want that to happen.”

Derek licked his sudden dry lips as he debated what the best way to comfort him would be. 

“I’d be vulnerable, too, you know. Probably more so since you’d be beating me up on the daily.”

Stiles’ lips twitched.

“You don’t always have to be strong to protect the ones you love, Stiles. Sometimes you just have to be there, whether you’re on the field or sidelines. Support is a type of strength, you know. What do you think Scott does?”

Stiles chuckled at the crooked jawed beta and his dopey smile. 

Marley whined as Stiles thought about everything that could go wrong.

 _Think of everything that could go right_ Marley growled back.

“Fine.” He accepted after a moment. Derek’s grin rivaled the sun.

“Really?”

“If it’s going to help our packs come to an agreement, then yeah. Besides, Marley would drive me insane if I said no.”

Derek chuckled as he rose, cracking his neck and back while he stretched.

“I’ll let my mom know tonight. What time were we going to pick up Cora and Boyd?”

“You decided on Cora?”

“Yeah,” Derek sighed with a smile. “She would’ve came along anyway.”

“I can see her doing that. We’ll probably leave here around eight or so, depends on what time we get up in all honesty.” 

Derek nodded as he yawned.

“I’m going to head to bed, then.”

“Alright. Goodnight.”

“Mhmm. Oh, hey. What happened to Patrick? The last time I saw him he was on the floor.”

“He went back home, one of his kids caught a cold and is driving his wife nuts.” Stiles grinned.

Derek shook his head with a chuckle, closing his door behind him and dropping onto his bed with an appreciative groan.

He’d just close his eyes for a minute. Besides, Deucalion had already caught his mother up anyway, so what was the rush? A couple minutes wouldn’t hurt anything.

The next morning he awoke to the sound of boisterous laughter coming from downstairs.

He nearly shouted for Laura to shut up when he realized where he was. The events from last night slowly filled his mind and he couldn’t stop his smile if he wanted to. But really, who could blame him? His mate had agreed to not only spending time with him, but also allowing Derek to help him. That alone sent his wolf into a purring mess.

“Hale! You awake up there?” Thomas shouted.

“I am now!” He responded with a grin. Honestly, Thomas kind of reminded him of Isaac. Just a lot more confident and outgoing. But Isaac was getting there, he knew. He’s made remarkable progress in the past couple years he moved in with their pack.

“Get your ass down here! And tell Stiles, too! Breakfast is done and then we’re going to head out!”

He didn’t give him a chance to respond, Derek could already hear him running into the kitchen.

His door got knocked open with a resounding bang, making him jump as Stiles strolled in fully dressed.

“We have to work on your self awareness.” Stiles mumbled to himself as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

Derek blinked at him, it was too early for him to deal with his brain to mouth filter so he just avoided speaking all together. At least until he was fully awake, anyway.

“So, here’s the deal. Breakfast. It’s a free for all. Whoever gets there first usually hogs everything for themselves. Luckily for you, I used my magic to give you a standing chance.”

“Uh, thank you?”

Stiles grinned at him, albeit sly and sharp.

“No problem. You have five seconds before it wears off, though.” He then dashed out of his room and Derek could hear his light footsteps running for the kitchen.

Only then did his brain make the connection, and he scrambled out of his sheets to follow the sound of Stiles’ laughter.

Stiles and Kate were warring for the last piece of bacon when Derek claimed the empty seat beside his mate. Stiles spared him a quick glance and grin before going back to where his fork had speared into the piece. Standing with a victory cry, he was about to eat it when Marcus plucked it off the fork.

Stiles gaped at him as he fed it to his wife. 

“Marcus! The betrayal I’m feeling!” He glared at him. Kate laughed, sticking her tongue out at him and showing the mushed up bacon, making him wince.

“That’s not okay. Not okay at all.” He shuddered, slouching into his chair.

Marcus smirked as he wrapped an arm around her chair, picking up his coffee.

“Sorry, Stiles. But a mate has to provide, yes?” He chanced a wink at Derek while Stiles was mumbling to himself, cutting his pancakes into bite size pieces. 

_Go for it_ he mouthed at him. Derek bit his lip as his wolf howled in agreement. Sighing, he pierced a piece of his bacon and nudged Stiles foot with his own. 

Stiles’ head snapped up, eyes widening when he saw the offer before narrowing.

“Take it,” He told him as his heart caught in his throat. His wolf was leaning forwards, ears perked up.

Stiles ignored how his fox was practically throwing himself at him, thinking for a moment. He knew that they were mates, obviously. And as Patrick explained to him before, Derek’s instincts must be going haywire with how standoffish he’d been. 

Stiles gave Marley an ear rub as the fox butted his head with his own. 

“Thanks, Derek.” He smiled as he took the offered piece. Derek beamed back at him, eyes twinkling. 

“No problem.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Kate asked after she finished swallowing.

“We're leaving after we eat and he gets changed to pick up his pack mates.”

“Can I come?”

Stiles glanced at him. Derek shrugged, he was still uncomfortable around Kate, but he knew that she had nothing to do with what her father had done.

“I don’t mind.”

“Then I’m going.” Kate stood up, kissing Marcus’ head as she put her plate in the sink.

Stiles gagged at them, breaking off into cackles when Marcus tossed a piece of egg at him.

“Please, for the love of God. This table can’t handle another food fight.” Deucalion told them sternly. 

“And _who_ exactly started the last one?” Dallas asked sarcastically. Deucalion pointed a finger at her with furrowed eyebrows.

“I wasn’t the one who threw the garlic bread at their alpha now, was I?” He snarked back.

Stiles groaned loudly, catching everyone’s attention. 

“Are we really going to have this discussion _again_?”

“Fine. How about you, Stiles. Have you finished the training itinerary for your next camp.” Dallas eyed him.

“Of course I did.”

“What happens on day four at noon?”

“I train them. Are we done now?” Dallas scoffed, although she obligingly began eating again.

“Who did you choose to bring, Derek?”

“My little sister Cora and my best friend Boyd.”

Ellen nodded.

“Solid choices.”

“And Jackson.” Stiles added. At the confused glances, he elaborated. “He’s a werewolf, but he used to be a kanima.”

“Used to? Why’d he want to change?” Ellen asked with a frown.

Stiles looked towards Derek for guidance. He didn’t know why either, honestly. Ellen was awesome. 

Derek mulled over the best way to answer as he sipped his orange juice. 

“Jackson wasn’t in control of himself. He was scared and didn’t trust a lot of people at the time. Because of that, some things happened that aren’t in my arsenal to tell. Eventually we found a way to turn him into a werewolf and he chose that instead.”

“What a waste.” Ellen grumbled. Stiles nodded towards her, but kept his mouth shut as everyone finished eating.

"Are you ready?” He asked once Derek placed his empty glass down. 

“Yeah. I just have to change real quick. I’ll be right back.”

Derek grabbed his plate before he could say anything, leaving him with his mouth open and staring after him like an idiot. Kate tossed her arm around him as she snickered.

“Well, you bagged yourself a gentlemen, didn’t you?”

“Shut up, Kate. I’d rather have him than a traitor like Marcus.” He grumbled as Dallas tossed him his jacket. 

“He turned on you for the good of me, so I’m okay with that.” She smirked at him.

“Whatever. It’s the concept of the thing, anyway.”

Derek appeared just as he finished zipping up his hoodie, clothed in dark, ripped skinny jeans and a gray Henley. Kate hummed appreciatively in his ear and he ignored her just as he put a hand over Marley’s muzzle.

“Great, we’re all ready. Let’s go, Derek. Kate, you’re not welcome anymore.” He turned his nose up as he gripped Derek’s shoulders and pushed him out, leading the way from behind him.

“Funny.” Kate grinned as she passed them both up, starting the car before they even reached the front door.

“Is she always like that?” Derek asked after a minute.

“Always.” Stiles confirmed, his smile a mix between fondness and annoyance. “Let’s go get your pack mates, yeah?”

Derek smiled softly at him and he bit his lip as his stomach clenched and heart warmed. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Stiles saw the way Derek’s nose twitched, then how his smile grew larger. He also noticed the new spark in his eye and turned abruptly. 

_Nope. Not thinking about what he smelled. It was just friendly admiration. Yeah._

Derek slid in the backseat next to Stiles, his grin toned down and eyes kind. 

Stiles huffed, looking out the window as Kate began to drive.

_What's wrong with me? I can’t be accepting it already, right?_

Marley purred, wrapping his tail around his leg in his mindscape.

Glancing at Derek, he saw that the man had spared him from more embarrassment and was now texting someone, satisfied smile still in place.

He met Kate’s eyes through the rear view mirror, including the knowing smile.

Oh boy.

As Mckenna’s tree left his line of vision, he hunched over and ran a hand through his hair. 

He would need to talk to his dad when he got back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was more of a transitional chapter, but things are going to start picking up really soon! I'm hoping to get into a schedule so you guys aren't waiting, but at the same time I don't want to put out any work that I'm not okay with. I have a better idea of what the timeline for this AU is looking like though, so that's great! Thank you for your continued support, it really helps motivate me!! xoxo


	12. Eighteen Days

Derek manages to get Laura and Erica off of him, glaring at them both while they laugh. His mom grinned at them from her chair, legs crossed and laughing at Peter’s dry comments. 

“Quit it!” He growls at Cora as she jumps on his back.

“You stink.” She mumbled into his neck. Rolling his eyes, he batted her grubby hands off of him. 

“I was gone for one night. And you’ll get used to it, seeing as how you’ll be there with me this time.”

Her head tilted to the right, mouth twisted into a frown as she sat on Laura, who was occupying the couch.

“What do you mean?”

“Deucalion called.” Talia informed them, using her ‘This is important so pay attention’ voice. Immediately, all eyes were on her.

“He had a proposal that I think we would all benefit from. I think we’ll wait for Stiles to explain further, though.”

Derek glanced out the window, smiling when he saw that Brooke and Ethan were gripping both of his arms, Aiden snarking at him and Kate slapping Stiles’ head when he shot an insult back. Aiden cackled, turning his head towards the house when he realized that they weren’t talking anymore. Ethan followed his lead, telling Stiles that they were watching and probably waiting for them.

Stiles shook them off, smirking back at them as he made his way closer to the patio door. 

“Does this involve me? Because I sincerely hope it does.” Laura tossed to her mother as he opened the door. 

Stiles looked her up and down, mentally noting the weaknesses he could sense from her.

“It’s not my place to decide that, although I can tell you that any one of you would benefit from participating.”

Laura blinked, glancing at Jordan who matched her look. 

“Uh, okay?”

“Anyway, I’m assuming that the old man caught you up with everything.”

Talia nodded, pulling out the paper that Derek had handed her.

“Yes, he told me all the details. I’m just worried about how intense he made it seem.”

Stiles claimed a love seat for himself and his pack, leaning back and crossing his arms.

“I’m not going to lie, a lot of people can’t handle it.” Kate made her way inside next, followed by Brooke and the twins.

“I’m sure Kate will back me up when I say that more people leave than they stay.”

Kate nodded as she shoved Ethan onto the couch and found purchase on his lap, adjusting herself so her legs draped across Stiles'.

“Five people quit last time on the second day.” Kate supplied with a grin. “There were only three left after that.”

“Why did they leave?” Erica asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“They didn’t like how vulnerable they felt and they let their thoughts run away from them.” Aiden informed them, sitting on the arm of the couch by Brooke and playing with her hair.

“What do you mean they felt vulnerable?” Isaac asked asked as he began to fidget.

Stiles shared a look with his pack, warning them not to say anything that involved the training system they used.

“The camp’s purpose is to throw you in the deep without the things you’re used to, physical _and_ mental. I won’t say more than that, but Kate’s right when she said that the camp is usually cut short. Last year only one person made it, and she was able to save her pack when there were conflicts.”

Talia bit her lip as she considered. From what she’s heard, the first week is supposed to be the easiest. The syllabus week, so to speak. She herself thought her pack was among the strongest, but seeing how calm and collected Stiles’ pack had fought she was given quite a wake up call. Not to mention how they seemed to have fun while they were trading blows.

“I’d like to give your camp a try. How does the process work for admitting people?”

Stiles sat straighter, leaning across the coffee table to point out the lines on the paper.

“Right there is where you put down the members you think could use the training more than others or whoever you think would benefit the most. The two lines under that is where yourself and Peter would sign your consent. Think of it as a waiver, of sorts.”

Talia uncrossed her legs and moved her hair behind her ear as she picked up a pen.

“Waiver for what?” Peter asked, eyes showcasing curious concern. Brooke smirked, leaning further into Aiden as she replied.

“Their lives. Every year, a handful of people nearly die. Of course, Stiles and myself go and heal them but not right away. The camp is to push your limits, see where you stand and where you would help your pack the most.”

Talia faltered, leaning back slightly and making eye contact with her pack in order to gage their reactions. Surprisingly, all of them seemed determined if not a little worried.  
Derek was all but ready to rip off his shirt and start challenging people to a fight. 

“Okay.” Talia nodded. Stiles sent her a reassuring grin. Talia put the pen down on the table, watching Stiles and his pack for a bit before gesturing for Peter to lean down.

“Do you think we should get his opinion on who we send? He probably has his own suggestions and it may help to have an outsider’s input.”

Peter thought about it, running the scenario around his mind before agreeing with a nonchalant nod, returning to his wife’s side. 

“What do you think, Stiles.” Peter asked him before Talia could open her mouth. Stiles stared at him, mouth twisted into a confused frown.

“About what? My camp? I might be biased but I think it’s pretty basic and straightforward.” 

Peter chuckled at him, shaking his head. 

“No, your opinion. Who we should send under your wing.”

Stiles blinked, shocked that they were willing to hear his thoughts. Not that it hasn’t happened before, but most of the time the Alpha’s dismissed his suggestions. 

Kate dug her heel into his thigh, cocking an amused eyebrow at his yelp. He met the snickers from the Hale’s with his glare before giving them all a once over. Laura was lacking in the strength section as a whole, relying on her ability to taunt and distract her opponent. She’s probably one of the weakest in the pack because of that. If an enemy were to remain calm and she was facing them alone, she may not make it out alive. Cora was better off with her speed, but again, her chances would be low if she got caught or injured one of her legs. Boyd and Erica were in pretty good shape. Boyd was smart enough on his own to hold off any offenders until help arrived, and Erica was a very clever thinker. 

Isaac and Jackson were the two he most concerned about, not to mention Scott. Isaac’s whole purpose was the distraction, but what if the distraction became distracted? He would be left defenseless and Stiles didn’t know how good he was one on one. He could tell that Isaac’s been through some shit in his life, recognized the signs from others he’s helped. He knew that Isaac would benefit from his help but he didn't want to force him and accidentally bring up bad memories. 

Jackson was a whole other story. If he wasn’t okay with being a kanima and turned while he had those conflicting feelings, who knows what baggage he’s carrying with him. His supposed clean slate as a werewolf was probably getting rusty with some old thoughts and concerns from the past. The aggression that Talia expressed to him was most likely him trying to find a balance between his strength. Not many people knew, but whenever a kanima turns into a wolf successfully, which is rare, some of the kanima’s qualities tag along with the transformation. 

Scott was a lost cause with physical show downs, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t help. There were so many ways to protect yourself without harming someone long term. Stiles recalled how he had made a rune for a wolf similar to Scott. He hated blood, got sick at the sight of it. Thankfully, Stiles came up with a way for him to either knock out his enemy without touching them or transport himself to his pack.

“Stiles?” Shaking his head, he grinned sheepishly at Talia. 

“Sorry, just thinking.” He turned towards Derek, frowning when he saw how tense he was.

“What’s up with you?”

“Huh?” Derek responded with a blink.

“The constipated face. It’s back.” He smirked.

Derek glared back with twitching lips and Stiles smiled back innocently. He made eye contact with Laura, Cora, Isaac, Jackson and Scott. His smile morphing into a smirk when Jackson narrowed his eyes, throwing an arm around Lydia and kissing the top of her head. 

“I know who would benefit best from your pack, but I don’t know if you’ll think the same. It’s your choice in the end, anyway.”

Talia cocked her head with a smile, waving her hand for him to continue. 

“Laura, Cora, Isaac, Jackson, and Scott.” Everyone looked taken aback, especially Isaac who sunk into his seat and Scott who slumped into Allison. 

“Why them?” Peter asked genuinely.

“I mean no offense to you or anyone in this room, but based on what I’ve seen and what I’ve been informed, they’re on the lower end of the scale.”

Cora growled, flashing her eyes. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Stiles met her head on and put on a placating smile. “I’m not saying you’re not strong, I’m just saying that you’re not up to speed with the others in some areas. Besides, you were going anyways, weren’t you? Derek said he was picking you and Boyd.”

Scoffing, she leaned back against Isaac who had his arms around her in a tight grasp.

“Why do you think they’re weaker than the rest of us?” Talia asked him next. Stiles frowned, trying to find the right words to describe it. Luckily, Brooke beat him to it.

“It’s not necessarily weak that we’re talking about. It’s more of the chance a person has of surviving against a strong opponent.” 

Talia nodded, glancing at all of her betas that Stiles had recommended. Seeing how Cora was scoffing at the ground and how Isaac was nearly flooding the room with anxiousness, she coughed and glanced towards Stiles.

“Would you mind if I have a word with my family? I’d like to hear their thoughts before I commit to anything regarding them.” 

Stiles was already on his feet, dragging the twins behind him while Kate and Brooke led the way.

“Take your time.” He gave them a beam as Aiden growled, trying to get out of his grasp. 

She waited until they were out of hearing distance before turning towards her pack.

“Thoughts?”

“So. You and Derek seemed to be a little closer.” Aiden drawled as he shifted to get comfortable. 

Stiles grunted, turning his face so it wasn’t in the grass as he wrestled his hands out of Aiden’s grasp.

“We talked things out and decided to start as friends and see where that goes.” He mumbled, getting fed up and sending a small spark into Aiden. He yelped, rolling next to Stiles and rolling his eyes when the girls laughed at him. 

“How’re you doing though? For real.”

“I’m not focusing on that. My main priority right now is the training camp… and maybe what we’re having for dinner tonight.”

Aiden groaned through a laugh. “Man, you’re always hungry.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” He snarked back. 

“I mean, it kinda is. Last month you ate the rest of Kali’s pasta and she flipped the lid.”

Stiles paled at the memory, the way she smiled pleasantly as she dug her claws into his leg until he apologized. 

“We don’t talk about that.”

Smirking, Aiden stood up and nodded his head towards the house. 

“Lucky for you, the Hale’s are ready for us.”

“That didn’t take as long as I thought it would.” He muttered with an appreciative tone. He wasn’t known for his patience, after all.

Making their way back inside, Stiles instantly noted the change of atmosphere. Isaac seemed calmer, as did Cora who was looking a little excited. A contrast to her brother who had the face of someone who was forced to suck a lemon.

“So I take it your decision is made?”

“We decided to go with your judgement.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Why do you seem so surprised? You’re the one who recommended them, after all.” Talia chuckled with warm eyes. 

“Well, yeah, but that didn’t mean that you were going to _listen_ to me.”

“Get off your high horse, Stilinski.” Brooke snorted. 

“A couple of us have questions though.” Laura began. Stiles gave her all his attention, leaning forward and waiting for her to go on. 

“Go for it.”

“How long is the camp? It doesn’t say and Jordan and I have a friend’s wedding to go to.”

“It lasts seventeen days, so a little more than two weeks. The last day is more laid back, though. Last year we went to the beach for the day and played beach volleyball.”

Derek ignored everyone’s eyes as his stomach dropped and lust flooded his system at the thought of Stiles playing volleyball.

“What about the first day? I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into, thanks.” Jackson told him dryly.

“Placement. We have different things that we help people with and different people who teach them. In your case, your main teacher would be Ellen because she’s a kanima and would be able to connect with you more. I’m pretty sure I know where everyone else will go, but I have to see who all shows up this year to make sure.”

Jackson scoffed but didn’t say anything else.

“What about Boyd? Will he still be able to come?” Derek asked him with an intense stare. He didn’t know what he would do if Boyd couldn’t go. Who would he go to when he wanted to rant about Stiles? His sisters would laugh at him and Jackson and Isaac would ignore him. Scott would probably tell Stiles right away, the man couldn’t keep a secret for his life. 

“If he wants,” Stiles shrugged. “We have enough rooms for him. He would have to participate, though. I don’t take any slackers.” He shot a grin at Boyd who gave him a nod.

“I’ll do my best.” 

“Well, that’s that, then. Did you fill out the paper already?”

“All I have to do is sign it. And Stiles,” Once Talia saw that he was focused on her again, she sent him a stern smile.

“I’d like to have every one of my pack members back alive, please.”

Stiles laughed as he rubbed his head, sharing a look with Brooke.

“We’ll try our best.”

“So. Rooms. I’m taking it that Cora and Isaac are going to share as will Derek and Boyd. Laura, are you okay sharing a room with Scott? That way Jackson can have his own room, like I’m sure he wants to.” Stiles asked once they were all piled out of the SUV.

“I don’t see a problem with it.” Scott shrugged as he glanced at the house. Laura was gaping at the house, grinning when she heard the bickering between Charles and Dallas.

“Ah, it’s good to be home.” Aiden grunted as he stretched, Brooke already making a beeline for the house.

“Don’t get too relaxed, you’re one of the trainers this year.”

Aiden huffed, picking up his bags along with Brooke’s and heading inside after her. The Hale’s seemed hesitant to get closer, Isaac’s arm wrapped around Cora’s shoulders and Scott and Boyd hanging around Derek and Jackson. With a roll of his eyes, Stiles handed their bags to Ethan and Kate and waved them towards the house. 

“Go on, I’ll show these guys around.” Watching them go with a fond smile, he turned towards the others with a sharp clap. 

“Alright. This is my house and your hell for the next seventeen days. Follow me inside and I’ll show you around. Derek’ll help too, since he’s kind of familiar with the place.”

Opening the door, he immediately made his way to the kitchen, the others flooding the room alongside him. Charles gave him a stoic look, only sighing when Stiles grinned innocently at him.

“This man right here is my favorite chef in the world. He’s amazing at cooking and he’ll even take requests if you’re nice and clean his weapons for him.”

Charles chuckled at that, glancing at the college kids in front of him and giving them a nod.

“I hope you know what you lot signed up for. Stiles here is one of the most intense teachers I’ve seen.”

“Aw shucks, big guy. You don’t need to flatter me.” Stiles batted his eyelashes, laughing when Charles threw a hidden throwing knife at him. Catching it, he tossed it back and led the group into the living room, still snickering despite their puzzled faces.

“This is the family room, obviously. Usually everyone is hanging out down here. Kali and Ennis get the most comfortable couch because they get what we call the ‘Pregnancy Privilege’. Honestly, most of us are in here most of the time.”

“Quit calling it that, for fucks sake.” Jason grunted as he laid his head onto the arm of the couch. 

“Don’t blame me because you didn’t get any last night. I can’t control your wife.” Dodging the pillow, Stiles froze when Ellen coughed. Making her way to stand in front of him, she crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Since when did I agree to train this year, huh? I have stuff to do and places to nap. I don’t have time to deal with intolerable children with a superiority complex.”

Stiles snorted, glancing at Jackson who was staring at her tail with a bemused expression. He seemed to shake himself out of it when he realized what she said. 

Scoffing at her, he puffed out his chest and glanced at her tail with disgust.

“I don’t know why you’d want to represent a reptile when being a wolf is so much better.”

Ellen gave him a pleasant smile, sweeping her tail across the floor to strike him in his jean clad ankle. 

Jackson yelled as he hit the floor with a thump, eyes wide and staring at the ceiling as he realized he couldn’t move.

“So I can do that, asshole. Keep that attitude up and that’s how you’ll be for the next eighteen days.” Laura burst into snickers, turning her face into Boyd’s shoulder who was sporting a small smile himself. Turning her scoffing face towards Stiles, she gave him a snort before heading to the kitchen.

“I expect you to move him before I get back.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Stiles replied with a grin. Hefting Jackson onto his shoulder, he led them upstairs.

“Derek, can you show them the guest rooms while I put Jackson in his?”

With a nod, Derek pointed down the neighboring hallway.

“They’re really laid back here. You would think that Deucalion would be monitoring who walked into his house.” Laura commented as she looked around.

“Who’s to say he isn’t?” 

Jumping, she turned around and noticed an older man, similar in age to Peter. His hair was combed back lazily, a few strands brushing his forehead and the top of his glasses.

“Who’re you?”

“Marcus. I’m the pack second and I make sure that everyone is safe while the Alpha’s gone. You must be Laura, yes?”

Laura frowned as she narrowed her eyes. “How’d you know?”

Chuckling, Marcus shook his head and left with a lazy wave over his shoulder. 

“He’s weird.” She muttered to her pack. They all nodded, Jackson mumbling something along the lines of wanting to go back.

“Anyway, these are the guest rooms. I’m pretty sure you guys just pick one out since Stiles didn’t say anything.” Derek informed them, pointing out his room to Boyd.

Laura let Scott pick out their room while Cora and Isaac chose the one at the end of the hall. Stiles walked out to the room across from them and gave them a grin.

“So how’s it feel to be here? Ready to kick ass yet?”

“I’m ready to knock the fuck out!” Cora yelled from their room. Stiles laughed brightly as he studied them.

“Y’know, I think this may be the group where more than half of the people can stay for the entire duration.”

“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” Boyd asked once he set his bags in his room. 

“We’re just going to do some simple tests and pair you up with either Kate and Aiden, Brooke, or myself. Jackson’s going with Ellen, obviously. I think he’ll learn some good stuff from her.”

“I won’t be disappointed if she knocks him down every time he acts up.” Laura admits with a smirk. Stiles smiled back, noting the time on the clock above them. 

“I recommend getting to know the house and maybe hanging out with some people downstairs. I’m sure Caitlynn and Austin wouldn’t mind the company, they’re as outgoing as could be.”

“I think we’ll just get settled in, thanks.” Stiles left them with a shrug, patting Derek on the shoulder as he passed them and went into his room. 

“This is going to be interesting, eh Der?” She mumbled with an excited grin. Derek grabbed his sister’s arm and dragged her into the room Scott chose. 

“Go unpack already. These people wake up early and who knows what time they’ll have us start.”

“Alright, alright, geeze.” Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she shut the door while yelling at Scott for calling Allison already. 

Derek smiled form where he was walking towards his own room, chuckling when Laura hung up the phone for him and began berating him for not soaking up the new scenery.

It would get interesting alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm so sorry for how late this is. My aunt recently died at the same time that finals came up, so that's why this has been on pause for a while. I'm so thankful that you guys are so patient and still willing to read this. This chapter isn't as good as some of the others, but it's more of a transition one to sort of set the mood. Thank you again and make sure to R&R! xoxo


	13. The Beginning

Laura stood by her brother as they watched Stiles. He was already outside with Kate, Brooke and the twins. Aiden was pointing something out to him on the paper he held in a light grasp, to which he reread and frowned, tilting his head as he listened to their input. After a moment of clarification, he nodded and grabbed a pen from his pocket, using the tree behind him as a hard surface to write on.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Cora asked while she shoved a mouthful of oatmeal in her mouth. Isaac glanced out the window, shrugging when he couldn’t hear anything.

“No idea.”

“I think they’re going over the plans for today.” Boyd grunted.

Derek frowned at him. “Why do you say that?”

“I heard something about groups before they put the barrier up.”

“How do they group us?” Jackson asked him with a scowl.

Austin threw an arm around his shoulder with a sly smile. 

“Why don’t you ask the people who actually know the answers rather than asking one another? Man, you guys are so antisocial!” Austin laughed, stealing a strawberry from Laura’s plate and dancing out of the way before her hand could slap him.

Laura sighed, being reminded of the way her little cousins acted last Christmas. 

“How do they separate us?” Derek asked him once he settled. Austin hummed, looking skyward as he chewed and tapped his pointer finger against his chin. Caitlynn came up from behind him and poked his throat, grinning when he fell from his stool at the kitchen island. 

The Hale’s were shocked at the display, how Austin hadn’t second guessed himself when he bared his throat to a group of wolves from another pack. Were they really that confident in not only themselves, but one another as well?

Boyd glanced at Isaac, who was staring in disbelief.

“You’re so dramatic, Austin. All you need to do is tell them. You don’t need attention all the time, y’know.” Caitlynn chuckled, pulling up a chair next to Cora and turning it around so she could rest her hands on the back rest. 

“It depends on where the people are coming from, but this year I think they’re doing it in smaller portions since you guys are all in different places within a pack.”

Laura leaned forward, cupping her chin with her hand as she listened. 

“Last year was different?” She inquired.

“Last year Stiles took a seven year old under his wing. We all focused on him, and now he’s the second of an alpha who saw potential in him.” Austin shrugged.

Isaac gaped at him, dropping his forkful of eggs.

“A seven year old as an alpha’s second? What the hell? How did their pack take it? Weren’t they mad?”

“The kid saved them from a group of trolls. They’d never seen one before and didn’t know how to beat them, so they were already at a low chance of getting out of there. But then Preston came in and saved the day.” Aiden smiled as pride left him in waves.

“Don’t forget the blackmail part.” Caitlynn reminded once she swallowed her orange juice.

“Blackmail?” Jackson’s eyebrow rose as he shifted, reluctantly interested in the story.

“Well, Stiles trained him, right? I mean, Stiles trains everybody, but he and Preston were like best friends. Preston was eager to learn and Stiles was overjoyed that someone actually wanted to hear his theories and thoughts. I think he actually gave him a book at the end, yeah?” Austin asked his pack mate. 

“He typed it up for him, but he didn’t give him one of his own. It was basically what they went over while he was here.”

“Okay, but what did the brat blackmail them with?” Cora asked with a wave of her hand.

“He wanted to meet their alpha to ask for a place in their pack.” Austin answered with a fond grin. 

“Didn’t he have a family?” Boyd asked.

“Yeah, but he was adopted and they were human. He didn’t want to get them involved.”

“How’d he hear about Stiles?” Scott quizzed. 

“He found Stiles and was able to sense his magic, wouldn’t let go of his hand until Stiles agreed to train him. It wasn’t hard, considering Stiles loves kids.” Caitlynn answered, cocking her head towards the backyard. 

“They’re ready for you to come out. Don’t worry about the dishes, I’ll tell Anya and Kensy it’s their turn.” Mumbling a ‘Good luck’ to them, she put her hands on Austin’s back and began to push him back towards the living room, shoving him on the couch and laying down on his lap as she pressed play on the movie.

“You ready for this?” Cora asked her siblings with a feral grin. Derek smiled back, ruffling her hair as he jogged up to Boyd and Isaac. Laura glanced at her sister, giving her a challenging smirk and perking up when it was returned with a playful scowl. Scott trailed behind them, biting his lip and glancing between their new trainers outside. Jackson kept his hands in his sweatpants, grimacing when Aiden grinned at him and tossed a mocking wave.

Kate slung an arm around his shoulder, giving Stiles a reassuring squeeze before trailing to Brooke’s side. Stiles shook his head with a grin, making eye contact with the people who would be under his pack’s tutelage. Tucking his papers into the back pocket of his jeans, he stepped forward, ignoring the mocking snickers coming from Aiden and Kate.

Once the group was in a line, he gave them a grin.

“I hope you slept well and are well rested, ‘cause you’re going to need it. Starting today, I’m going to push you in ways you never thought about, expose new sides of all of you that would only appear when you’re most vulnerable, and teach you more about yourself and the way your mind interprets your surroundings. First things first: Groups.”

Pointing at Kate and Aiden, he motioned for them to introduce what they would be focusing on.

“We’ll be in charge of strengthening you, both mentally and physically.” Aiden started with a low voice. “It’s important that you’re able to keep calm during a fight, make sure that your mind is working to the best of your ability no matter the condition.”

“Strengthening yourself physically is critical. You’re all strong now, but instead of working up the weak points your body has, you enhance and tweak the things you know are in top shape. You really aren’t doing anything, just keeping your body in neutral so to speak. So we’ll be making sure that you focus on the weak points and not slacking off.” Kate finished. 

The Hale’s shared a look, Jackson scowling at the ground.

Brooke stepped up next, smiling at them while she cocked a hip.

“I’m here to teach self defense and basic runes. Honestly, I’ve never really taught by myself before but I’m sure that I’ll help you either way. The self defense we teach is different than the other kinds out there. I’m only teaching a style that Stiles and myself created a couple years ago for a client. Basically, at the end of the camp you’ll be able to render someone unconscious without touching them and make sure that you’re protected from basic attacks.”

“How is that possible?” Cora asked with a confused scowl. Brooke just smiled in reply, holding her hands behind her back.

Stiles rolled his eyes as Ellen jumped down from the tree branch above them, landing lightly on her feet and rubbing an eye as she yawned. Isaac took an instinctive step backwards along with Cora and Scott.

“What the hell…” He trailed off. Ellen scoffed, going next to Stiles and leaning against him as she crossed her arms. 

“I’m teaching balance and control along with strategies. They’re important because they are.” She told them curtly. Derek couldn’t help but be amused, especially since he knew Jackson was the one who would be learning from her. 

Stiles rolled his eyes and lightly shoved Ellen off of himself. Sticking his tongue out at her glare, he chuckled when he noticed she was holding back a smile. 

“I’m focusing on strategies, fighting styles, and balance. Every single one of you has a style that you prefer over others so I’ll help you out with bringing out the depths in that along with showing you other options that’ll work if you’re not able to use the one you favor over others. Balance is something we all need, especially after today. You’re senses will be fighting over one other, trying to find the equilibrium and stability that we take away until the end of the camp. The first few days are going to be hell for you all, I won’t sugarcoat it. But if you stick with it and give it your all, you’ll find that you’ll come out of it a lot stronger.”

Stiles nodded to himself, glancing at his friends to see if they had anything they wanted to add. 

“Alright. Going into groups. Scott, you’re with Brooke. I know that you said that you don’t feel comfortable exchanging blows with another person, so this should work really well for you.”

Scott sent a smile to Brooke, who waved back with a beam. He seemed to relax a little at that, his shoulders loosening and slouching over a little.

“Laura and Isaac, you’re with Kate and Aiden. I’m pretty confident with you guys because Laura, you’re all about taunting and provoking your opponent to get them more aggressive, which in turn makes them sloppy. Isaac, you have the potential to be really strong but you have mental barriers that hold you back. I’m hoping that they’ll help you get over those to the best of your ability.”

Laura’s lip twitched upwards on one side and she brought her hands up to crack her knuckles. 

“Sounds good to me.”

Isaac tensed further, only giving a sigh and nod when Cora nudged him.

“Ellen is working independently with Jackson. Based on their history with kanima’s, I’m sure she can help you out.” Stiles told him, frowning when Jackson didn’t reply.

“The only way any of you will get anything out of this is if you actually put effort into it. If you don’t want to be here, that's fine. You can leave whenever you want but you’ll miss out on a lot of things. I’m not here to force anyone to try, that’s not my place. My only role here is to help out those who want to help themselves.”

Jackson staggered to the side when Boyd elbowed him, glancing at him before releasing a puff of air and sending a small, sharp nod to Stiles.

“Two.” Ellen spoke up in a relaxed tone that contrasted the hardness in her eyes. Everybody turned towards her, Kate cocking a brow.

“That’s how many chances you get. I’m giving you one more than I give other people. I know damn well the traits and instincts of being a kanima, hell I _am_ one. But that gives you no excuse to go along with being an intolerant jackass.”

Laura stifled her laughter in her hand, noticing how nearly everyone’s mouth twitched. She already knew that Ellen was awesome, but now she was going to put in an effort to get to know her. Anyone who put Jackson in place like that right off the bat was someone she wanted to call a friend. 

“What do you mean, jackass?” Jackson growled. Ellen quirked an eyebrow, her eyes seeming to grow cold despite the sun beaming down on them.

“Lesson one: I don’t tolerate excuses, willful ignorance, or petty lies. Like Stiles said, it’s your choice if you stay or not. But it’s my choice whether I decide to train you or not. Keep that in mind while we start you off.”

Jackson opened his mouth before closing it with a resounding click. After a moment of silence passed, Stiles coughed somewhat awkwardly. 

“Anyway, that leaves Derek, Cora and Boyd with me. I already have a lot of ideas on how to help you all, so hopefully you guys are ready to get to it with an open mind.”  
Once Stiles saw that everybody was ready, he and Brooke stepped a couple feet in front of them.

“The first thing we do is block you wolf.” He told them bluntly. Isaac flinched while Laura flashed her eyes.

“What do you mean block them?” Cora asked with furrowed brows. 

“Aiden? Can I demonstrate?” With a nonchalant shrug, Aiden shifted into his beta form and stood patiently while Stiles tapped his forehead. Instantly, he fell back to his human features and shape. The Hale pack shifted uneasily on their feet, looking at one another to gage their reactions.

“How long will they be blocked for?” Boyd asked gruffly.

“Twelve days.” Stiles answered with a smile. He flicked Aiden’s forehead again, releasing his wolf and giving it a quick pat on the head before closing their connection.

“That’s a long time.” Scott bit his lip. Brooke nudged his shoulder with her own, giving him a reassuring grin.

“It seems a lot longer than it really is. A lot of other people did this before you too, remember. Everyone in the house had it done to them for five months, in fact. Trust me, you got this. Of course, we won’t force you to do it but you can’t really participate in the planned activities if you don’t get them blocked.” 

Stiles waved his hand with an excited grin and sat down. He always loved meeting new wolves and their personalities. It gave him a sense of their character, which in turn gave him a clearer picture on how to help them.

“Any volunteers?”

Derek stepped up, knowing that Brooke and Ellen were right. If he wanted to get stronger to protect and help his mate in the future, he would need to get out of his comfort zone.

Stiles blinked. His smile widening, he patted the grass in front of him. Once Derek was sitting, he gently placed one hand on his shoulder to steady him and the other in between his eyebrows.

“This’ll feel really weird and uncomfortable for about a minute. Your senses are going to go crazy and they’ll be trying to soak in everything at once. Be prepared to feel like you’re underwater. You won’t be able to hear anything long distances away and you’ll feel a little weaker and dizzy. It’s all normal though, I promise.”

“Why didn’t Aiden get any of those symptoms?” Jackson asked. 

“Because I’ve had five months without my wolf plus practice. It’s not my first time and it sure as hell won’t be my last.” He responded with a smirk. “I’ll tell you that it does suck the first time, though.”

Kate chuckled, crossing her arms and leaning back against the tree. 

Derek nodded once, licking his lips and following Stiles’ guiding hands until he was laying on his back. 

“Make sure to keep your eyes closed, it’ll make it a lot worse if you add sight to the other senses right off the bat.” He instructed. Once Derek’s hazel orbs were gone, he sent his spark to search for his mates wolf. 

Derek tensed, clenching his teeth at the foreign feeling and trying not to move. Stiles grinned as his spark found the wolf, letting him sniff his magic until he ensured that his intentions were good. Thankfully, Orion only growled for a while before laying down and turning his head to the side, settling down for a nap. 

Stiles’ spark wrapped around the wolf, forming a barrier before retreating. Removing his finger from the man’s forehead, he watched the trembling body with patience. He knew it could take a couple minutes before Derek would feel comfortable opening his eyes.

He felt like he was drowning. Everything was silent compared to what it was before, except the blood rushing through his body and the harsh pounding of his heart. His head was spinning, trying to find something that he was familiar with. No scent was appearing when he inhaled and that only made him try to listen harder, trying to get a sense of where everyone was. 

_Calm down. Stiles did this and he warned you ahead of time. He wouldn’t hurt you._

“Find a balance.” He heard from above him. Bringing his eyebrows together, he tried to focus on Stiles’ voice.

“Anything that help you gain a sense of stability. Feel the grass underneath you, how you’re on solid ground. The birds singing or the wind brushing the tree branches. How your nose is empty, nothing to smell or be overwhelmed by. Focus on your heartbeat. You got this, Derek.” Stiles mumbled soothingly.

_There._

Everything stopped. He was left feeling weightless and he was surprised that it was almost... pleasant. No overwhelming emotions that clogged his nose or the multiple heart rates he was used to. Focusing on his heart like Stiles advised, he was able to calm his breathing.

“Are you good?” Stiles asked him. He could see the Hale’s out of the corner of his eye, could practically feel the worry and curiosity despite blocking Marley’s senses.

“Yeah.” Derek grunted. Stiles grinned, hovering his hands over his shoulders.

“Okay, I want you to open your eyes. I’m going to help you up so you don’t fall over, alright?”

With an affirmative grunt, Derek slowly opened his eyes as Stiles helped him sit up. Glancing around, he was shocked at how… empty he felt. It wasn’t necessarily bad, he knew. It was just extremely uncomfortable. He felt the need to shrink in on himself, almost, unused to being or feeling this exposed.

“Derek? How are you feeling?” Aiden asked as he kneeled beside them. Derek gave him a smile.

“Weird.” Relieved snorts and chuckles came from his pack and Stiles was laughing as he helped him stand. Derek found that once he was on his feet, he had to hold on to Stiles’ shoulder for a minute before the dizziness went away. 

“You think you can walk?” Stiles inquired. Derek tested it, taking one step and then another. Soon enough, he was standing by his pack and Laura was gazing at him with bright eyes.

“You could’ve said yes.” Stiles mumbled with an amused smirk. Derek sent one back, along with a shrug.

“Alright, who’s next?” Stiles asked.

One by one, they all lined up. Isaac and Jackson were the most reluctant, placing themselves last and second to last in line. Derek watched from where he was standing with Aiden and Brooke, snickering when Laura stumbled from standing too soon and how Cora refused to open her eyes until she was sure she was used to it. 

“So how’s it feel?” Aiden asked him once Isaac was on his feet. Derek shrugged, glancing at him from the side of his eyes.

“You’re a wolf, you know.” Aiden blinked before grinning and resting an elbow on his shoulder.

“Y’know, I think we’ll get along fine.” 

Once everybody was as used to their new limitations as they could be, Stiles called them all back from where they were walking and running around, getting used to their new stability.

“Alright, training starts now. Cora, Derek and Boyd, we’ll start off by the ravine in the backyard.” Turning towards the rest of his pack mates, Stiles gave them all a grin to which they returned, except Ellen who was scrutinizing Jackson. 

“Make sure nobody dies. I made a promise to their alpha.” Stiles informs them. Kate snorts, heading to Laura and Isaac and throwing her arms around their shoulders, leading them away from Stiles and towards the forest.

“You say that every year.” Brooke laughs. “C’mon, Scott. We’re going to the basement. I already have some stuff set up down there.” Scott gave her a nod, looking around with eyes slightly wider than they usually were.

“Jackson, we’re going to the caves on the other side of the ravine. I won’t have you do that exercise yet since Stiles already called dibs.” Jackson gave a short grunt, walking beside her.

Watching them all go, Stiles turned towards his group with an eager grin. His spark was thrumming under his skin, sending happy little tremors down his spine towards his toes. He loved training, especially with the results he’s already seen. He couldn’t wait to see how far the Hale pack would go, they would most likely end up being one of the most successful groups he’s had, if not the most successful.

“Are you guys ready?” 

“Not even close,” Cora smirked. “Let’s get started.” 

Derek and Boyd shared a look as the duo began heading to the trees, walking closer than usual as to hear one another better.

“You think we’ll make this out alive?” Boyd asked as he evaded a fallen branch. 

“We have too. My mom would bring us back just to lecture us on how we shouldn’t of died. Not to mention I won’t leave my mate alone.” 

Boyd nodded.

“Let’s give it our all, then.” 

Derek grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to speed up! There's a lot more Sterek interaction coming as well, which I'm really excited about and hope you guys are too. Thank you for your kind reviews and feedback! xoxo


	14. Splitting Up and Getting Points Across

Ellen trudged around the ravine where Stiles and his group were, stepping around rocks and under branches with her eyes closed. When Stiles first told her about Jackson, she was interested and maybe a little excited. Now, though…

“Damn it!” Jackson snarled as another branch slapped him. She sighed, glancing longingly back towards the house where her bed was. Sadly, she made a promise to Stiles. God knows how much power his disappointed look had on all of them, whether he knew it or not. 

“Do you guys really rely on your senses that much or are you just incompetent?” She asked him as she held up a branch.

“It’s a lot harder.” Jackson replied with a grunt. 

“Huh. Wasn’t expecting honesty.” She mumbled to herself.

“What?”

“Nothing. Weren’t you a jock in high school while you were human? What happened to all that?”

“I got used to the… assistance my wolf gave me.”

“So you leached off of him.” She nodded her understanding, ignoring his protests. It made sense to her, why he suddenly grew more quiet and defensive. Considering his nature, it wasn’t hard to tell what his main problems were. 

From what she’s gathered so far, his main problems were based on his trust issues. The other one sprouted form there, which was loneliness. That was an ugly barrier to hold within yourself, especially paired with the former. They fed off one another, the more a person refused to trust others, the more lonely they got and vice versa.

She herself turned into a kanima because she could already picture it, even before she asked Deucalion to bite her. Stiles had showed her a picture once, and she was amazed. While others saw an abnormal creature, she saw an independent, powerful beauty. Something that was so easily looked over and yet could be an invaluable part of a pack, both for offense and defense. That’s all she wanted, really, to have an ability where she could protect those she loved like they protected her.

She was fiercely protective of her companion, lashing out at anyone who tried degrading her choice for the first couple days before Jason had talked with her. That’s what she loved about her mate, he was the anchor to her ship. While she wanted to explore and drag her family with her, he kept her grounded just enough to where it wasn’t overbearing. 

“How much further is it?” Jackson complained with a hand sweep across his forehead. Rolling her eyes, she picked up the speed. 

The terrain was difficult and required a lot of stamina with the steep incline which they were walking. The first time Anya had showed her the caves, she was out of breath before the halfway point, about to turn around when her kanima, who she had dubbed Dale, reprimanded her. He had changed her mindset from one that was dreading the journey to one that stopped and enjoyed the scenery. 

That was the first time that he had spoken with her, and she hoped that with Jackson’s senses blocked it would reach out to him, as well. 

“Use your senses. I won’t be telling you anything about where we are, the time, or any other things related to our hike. This is about helping you find your own way, after all. I’m just a guide, so to speak.”

“Then why the hell did you tag along? You could’ve gave me a map and pointed me in the right direction.” He hissed.

Ellen paused, thinking the idea over before shaking her head. That would be too much trouble and he would most definitely set off all of the wards and traps they set up around their property. God knows what Stiles would say if she brought Jackson back with a missing leg.

“That’s too troublesome. Besides, think of this as practice.” 

“Practice for what?” He snapped, catching himself on a tree as he tripped. Ellen saw how his reflexes were slightly faster than a human’s and grinned inwardly. 

“Practice for not getting on my nerves. And for learning who you want to be.”

“I already know who I am.” He told her with a confused scoff. She tsked, cocking her head and looking him in the eyes.

“I said who you want to be, not who you are now. Chew on that for a bit.” She smirked at her little pun before swiveling around and continuing her stride upwards. She saw the marker she had left the night before, a single claw mark on a tree. Grinning, she slowly fell back until Jackson was on his own, climbing up the hill and cursing the whole way. 

“So naive,” She chuckled to herself. Letting out her tail, she took a second to let out a content sigh and then wrapped it around a tree branch, getting high enough so she could follow Jackson without being seen.

“Alright, wolfy. Let’s see how far you can get.”

Brooke wasn’t sure what she was expecting when Scott first saw the greenhouse, but having him instantly turn into a sneezing, wheezing, watery-eyed mess wasn’t one of them. She stared at him for a minute, stunned, before kicking herself out of it and letting her spark find the problem.

She wasn’t anywhere near as good as Stiles yet, but she was able to follow his distress towards his sinuses and lungs. If he was allergic to a plant and was sneezing this much, that must be causing him some sort of panic which helped his asthma increase. But really, the bulk of the problem was a reaction. 

“You have allergies.” She told him flatly. He nodded through his panting, motioning for her to help him with wide eyes. 

“This is why we should have people write down any diagnosis or conditions when they were human. But _no_. Why, Brooke? Everybody I’m sending with you is a werewolf.” She complained as she created an inhaler, handing it to Scott and leading him outside. 

He hunched in on himself, dragging in deep breaths and holding it before letting them back out. Eventually, he was able to relax. Brooke glared at him, arms crossed and foot tapping the ground.

“Did it ever cross your mind to tell me that you’re allergic to plants? Especially considering I told you where we were going?”

Scott gave her a sheepish smile, shrugging a shoulder as he stood up. “I forgot.”

“You forgot.” She repeated incredulously. “How can you- okay, you know what? Nevermind. I’ll think of something later.” She glanced around the clearing, biting her lip as she considered a backup plan. 

Today was all about getting a gage on his control, mental strength, and balance when he was without an anchor. She was going to use some herbs to get into his head a little, since it would be faster when all of his fears and insecurities were forefront for her to help him get over them. She wasn’t overly fond of taking the long way when there was a short cut, but you have to sniff the flowers on your journey, right? 

She just didn’t know what would distract or aggravate him enough that would allow her to get something off of him. Maybe- wait.

Brooke turned to him with a grin, which spread wider when he stiffened and tensed his shoulders.

“You used to play lacrosse, right?” Scott grinned, losing some tension and nodding back eagerly.

“Yeah, I made first line once Talia helped me control the wolf! It was amazing!” 

“Great, are you up for a game?” She asked innocently, gesturing to the small shed that held all of their recreational supplies. 

“For sure! I haven’t played in a while, so it’ll be fun. But, uh, weren’t you supposed to train me?” He asked with a confused frown.

“Don’t worry about that, Scotty. I have the perfect thing in mind.” Snapping her fingers, she guided her spark until it created three clones of herself, smiling when Scott staggered backwards.

“You just have to win a game against us.” She told him with a grin, watching as one of her clones ran to get the lacrosse sticks and ball. 

Scott blinked. “Uh, can we go back to the greenhouse? I think if I have a mask we’ll be good.” 

Brooke giggled, handing him a stick and pushing him towards the middle of the field they were on, following behind with the others.

Laura and Isaac watched as Kate and Aiden sauntered towards the center of the forest, glancing at each other with raised eyebrows.

“So what are we going to be doing?” Laura inquired. Kate looked back at her with a shrug.

“Right now we’re just looking for where we put our stuff. Stiles moved them around last night to make sure nobody ran into everyone else.”

“What’s the stuff?” Isaac asked with a tinge of hesitancy in his voice. 

“Nothing much, just a couple of-”

“Found it,” Aiden interrupted, laying a hand on Kate’s shoulder and pointing ahead of them towards the right. “That’s it, right?”

Kate grinned, rubbing his hair and turning back to the Hale’s.

“I’ll give you a crash course once we get there, but for now don’t step anywhere that we don’t.” 

“Why?” Laura asked as she looked around.

They didn’t respond to her, simply moved forward while avoiding specific spots until they reached their destination. Laura and Isaac stopped a couple of feet away, watching as the duo picked up a duffel bag and began pulling stuff out of it. 

“Is that a gun?” Isaac asked while stepping back. Laura scoffed, punching his shoulder with a teasing eye roll and headed forward to get a closer look.

“They’re paintball guns.” She reported back to him. They watched as Kate and Aiden mumbled lowly to each other, sending the occasional glance at them.

“We’re playing paintball?” Isaac relaxed a little, coming up to stand beside Laura.

“With a twist, yeah.” Kate replied with a smirk. She handed them each a paintball gun, Laura’s green and Isaac’s blue. 

“What do you guys think your best sense is?” Aiden asked while walking up to them, carrying a bag of bullets.

“I have pretty good eyesight.” Laura shrugged. 

“I think I can hear pretty good.” Isaac told them as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. 

“Great. Alright, so here’s what we’re going to do. We’re obviously going to play paintball, but we’re going to block your best sense. So, Laura, this is yours.” Kate grinned as she pulled out two vials, one holding a hazy white liquid that looked more like melted ice cream. In the other was a vibrant blue liquid that looked like juice. Along with both vials, there were two syringes and needles. 

“What are those for?” 

“This is the twist. Isaac, yours is the blue and Laura’s is the white.” Aiden took the blue vial and stood in front of Isaac, holding out his hand with an amused smirk.

“What do you want me to do?”

“They block your best sense. It doesn’t matter if you lied to us or don’t know, the potion will figure it out and block it for you.” Kate informed him, gripping Laura’s arm and turning it around. 

“Keep your arm like this.” Pulling the syringe and needle out, she attached the two and then sucked up some of the liquid. Laura bit her lip, watching as Aiden did the same preparations for Isaac. 

“How long does this last?” Isaac stuttered, fighting the urge to recoil when Aiden grasped his arm firmly.

“Just five days.” Kate chuckled at their expressions of horror, making sure that she had the correct amount before pushing the needle into her vein.

Laura winced, gasping as the cool stream entered her body. In a matter of seconds, her vision began to slowly blacken at the corners, growing more rapid and dark as they encased her whole eye. 

Isaac watched with a fearful stare as Laura’s eyes were overcome with the potion Kate had injected.

Kate began to back away, only stopping when Laura gripped her shoulder with a tight grip.

“What the hell is this?” Laura snarled. Kate grabbed her hand and helped her move so she could place it on Isaac’s shoulder instead. He gripped Laura’s hand in his own, holding her hand just as tight as she was. 

“This is how we’re going to train you the first five days. It’s not that long, really. Besides, it makes paintball more interesting.”

“How the hell am I supposed to play if I can’t see what I’m aiming at?” She grunted.

“That’s what you’ll have to learn. You guys need to depend on each other as much as you do yourselves. Aiden?” Isaac shut his eyes as Aiden eased the needle under his skin, hissing out his breath as it entered his blood stream. 

When he opened his eyes a second later, he couldn’t hear anything, his ears completely useless. He felt the tears welling up in panic, about to say something when Laura tugged on his arm. He focused on her lips, trying to breathe and managing to make out what she was saying.

“It’s okay. It’s five days, we can do it. It’ll be hell, but we’ve had worse.”

Kate and Aiden watched as they interacted, scrutinizing them as they comforted one another. 

“You think they’ll make it?” Kate murmured to him. Aiden shrugged, feeling the distress coming off the boy in waves.

“I’m sure Laura will come close, but I’m not too sure about Isaac.” 

“Yeah, I agree. But that’s where we come in. They’re going to be so badass once we’re finished with them.” Aiden chuckled as Kate grinned, knocking her shoulder as he handed the guns to them.

Laura held onto it with a steel grip, holding Isaac’s hand in the other and keeping track of how fast his heart was beating. It was still fast, abnormally fast, but not the pounding it was before. She wondered if they could still feel the pack bonds. She focused on Isaac and searched around until she found the faintest trace of him.

She sent every soothing emotion she could think of, flooding his bond and watching as he relaxed. She would have to remember that, sure that it would help them communicate somehow. 

“Alright, let’s get started. You guys are obviously going to be paired up, so we’ll give you guys a couple minutes to find a good hiding place.” Aiden pulled his phone out and set an alarm for five minutes, showing it to Isaac before starting it. 

Tugging Laura’s hand, Isaac made his way towards the forest. Laura stumbled behind him and he did his best to steady her while still maintaining the direction that had the most cover.

Laura focused on his footsteps, trying to find a pattern that indicated when he changed his pace and why. She tripped on a rock, pulling Isaac down with her. 

“This is so stupid.” She growled as she got up. She heard a short scream from her right, eyes widening when she recognized it as Cora’s. What the hell were they doing?

Stiles tilted his head back, enjoying the light breeze that tousled his hair. He knelt down, touching his hand to the ground and feeling around for any disturbances. As usual, the Earth greeted him enthusiastically, sending him any energy that he needed while soothing his muscles. Looking further, he noticed that there was an extra person by the ravine with them. He turned around with a scowl and marched passed the Hale’s, ignoring their surprised grunts.

Looking down, he saw Efren reading a book, floating lazily with a continuous, content hum falling from his mouth. 

“What the fuck, Efren? You know I’m training here, right?” 

Efren flipped a page, reaching towards the floating water bottle and took a sip. Stiles crossed his arms as he watched. 

“I’m merely here to help you.” Efren gave him a knowing glance. He stood there, wondering what he was thinking of helping him with when it hit him.

 _Of course._

“Well, we’re not there yet. We’re hitting the rocks first.” 

“The rocks?” Cora asked her brother. Derek shrugged, keeping an eye on Stiles as he exchanged words with his pack mate.

“I have no idea.” 

“Then I’ll wait.” Efren gave him a smirk and raised his water in a mock salute, chuckling when Stiles huffed and walked away.

“Alright. Here’s what’s going to happen. We’re in a ravine.” He pointed to the ravine ahead of them. It was about twenty feet below them and had a scattering of jagged rocks and cracks along the walls that contained the water. 

“The first thing you’re going to do is climb back up. It’s not going to be that hard even if you’re a human, so I added a couple surprises along the rocks for you. Anyway, once you get back to the top I’ll let you know what we’re doing next. Questions?” 

“What’s the point of this?” Cora asked. Stiles hummed appreciatively.

“I’m just testing where you guys are right now. That’s what everyone’s doing the first five days, so it’ll start off really boring.”

“And how are we going to get down there?” Boyd inquired as he peeked over the ledge. From what he could see, it was more than twenty feet and the water looked vicious today. He eyed Efren, wondering how the water was calmer around him before Stiles’ introductions hit him again. 

_Kelpie, right._

“I’m glad you asked, Boyd. Any volunteers?” Before Derek could step closer, Stiles grabbed Cora’s arm and dangled her over the side, grinning at her surprised yelp.

“Great! Alright, Cora, it’s all yours!” Letting her hands go, he watched as she scrambled to get a grip on the rocks, snickering as she cussed him out. Sadly, she wasn’t able to get a grip on anything so she fell into the ravine with a loud splash. 

Efren mock glared at Stiles as he calmed the water around her, making sure she wouldn’t drown.

“So, who wants to go next?” Stiles turned towards the rest of them, his spark dancing around enthusiastically and brightening his mood. 

Boyd stared at him with mild concern, pointing his finger at Cora.

“She’s bleeding.”

“She scraped her hands when she went down, it’s fine. You guys just aren’t used to long periods of slight pain. Are you going next?” Stiles asked him. Boyd took a second examine the cliff side. Sighing, he took off his shirt and folded it before jumping into the water. 

Stiles laughed, bending at the waist to talk to him.

“That was a smart move! You get brownie points for that!” 

Cora spluttered at that, glaring at Stiles.

“What about me? You didn’t even give me a chance!”

“You always have a chance, you just have to find it. Besides, I gave both Boyd and yourself a five second gap before I tossed you in.”

She conceded with a roll of her eyes, pulling her wet hair out of her face and motioning for her brother to join them.

“You good?” Stiles inquired. Derek nodded, sending him a short smile as he copied what Boyd had done. Once they were all in the water, Stiles whistled to bring them back to attention.

“Okay, so. Part once commences.” He began with a dramatic drop in his voice. 

“Shut up, Stiles.” Efren grumbled. Stiles scoffed, sending a small wave to get rid of his water bottle. At his pack mates irritated glower, he snickered and focused on the important things.

“Anyway, first things first. You’re going to swim from where you are to that line over there.” He pointed to a blue spray painted line, about five miles ahead. “After that, you’ll climb back up here and we’ll have a little spar. Sound good?”

None of them said anything for a minute. Cora grunted a ‘whatever’ while Derek and Boyd nodded.

“Okay, go ahead.” Stiles sat down on the cliff’s edge, dangling his feet and humming as he watched them start. They were all going strong on the breast stroke, Cora leading them before Derek passed her.

“Are they racing?” Kensy asked as she plopped beside him. She giggled as Boyd knocked Derek out of the way, tilting her head to glance at Stiles. “I thought they were supposed to be learning something.”

“Well, everyone starts somewhere, yeah? I remember how you could barely float when you did this.” 

Kensy snickered as she nodded. 

“Yeah, that was pretty bad, I’ll admit. Anyway, do you need any help?”

Stiles cocked an eyebrow at her. “Isn’t Ethan the one who comes to ask me that?”

“We played rock paper scissors for it. Anya’s hungover so she doesn’t want to get out of bed.” She flicked a bug from her jeans as she frowned.

“I’m surprised you didn’t take advantage of that.” He mused. She shot him a leer, licking her lips with a wild grin.

“Trust me, I did.” 

“I don’t know why I ask.” Glancing towards his group, he saw that they were barely halfway into the first mile. 

“When are you going to play with them? This is boring!” She whined. 

Stiles hummed, watching Efren as he packed up his stuff and easily climbed up the cliff, sending a smug look to Cora, Derek, and Boyd who were gaping at him.

“Right now seems like a good time.” Kensy smiled as he stood, brushing off his pants before climbing down. Once he was by his group, he splashed them with water. Grinning at their annoyed looks, he crouched so they could hear him better.

“I’m going to make this a tad more interesting for you, so show me what you got.” Before they could say anything, he sunk his hand in the water and let some of his energy go into it, speeding it up and adding a layer of unpredictability to their task. 

“Fuck!” Cora yelled as a wave pushed her back. Her pack mates were in no better condition, struggling to stay where they were and failing. All of them were nearly to the place they started at.

Stiles used his spark to help him climb back up, laying down beside Kensy and listening to their struggles.

“How long do you think they’ll take?” She asked as she laid down, leaning her head over the edge to watch them.

“I have no idea, but it’s still early so they should be good.” Stiles closed his eyes, allowing himself to take a short nap while they waited.

Six hours later, Kensy shoved his shoulder and nodded to the soaking wolves in front of him. They were all shivering, holding their crossed arms close to their chests and leaning into one another.

“So, what’d you think?” He asked them with a smile. Cora grumbled, flipping him off and trying to burrow closer into her brother.

“It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.” Boyd told him. Stiles nodded as he stood up, stretching his back and sighing when it cracked.

“Well, it’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy everyone would be doing it, yeah?” 

“Are we sparring now?” Kensy chirped with wide eyes. Stiles grinned while rubbing her hair.

“Yup. So I’m thinking Derek will go against you first, then Boyd and Cora.” Kensy nodded her agreement, taking off her hoodie and sneakers. 

“We really have to do this right now? We’re exhausted!” Cora whined. Stiles raised an eyebrow at her.

“You can always head to the house early. But trust me, they’d put you to work there, too.”

Derek cracked his neck as he shoved Cora behind him, walking until he was a couple feet away from Kensy.

“So what are the rules?” He asked Stiles. Stiles blinked at him, head tilting to the right.

“You want rules? We don’t have rules, really. As long as nobody dies we’re good. That’s about it, right Kensy?”

“Sounds good to me. Oh, wait! We forgot to give them the advantage.” Stiles snapped his fingers as he jogged towards a tree, picking up an old backpack and returning to them.

“What’s in there?” Boyd asked with narrowed eyes. Opening the zipper, Stiles pulled out a dagger, a short rope, and brass knuckles.

“These are your advantages. You can choose one, but make sure it’s what you want because that’s what you’ll be training with once we get back with the other groups.” 

Derek crouched down, examining the weapons before picking up the brass knuckles. He tried them on, staggering backwards when they flashed a bright blue. 

“What was that?” He inquired, settling his wide eyes on his mate. Stiles smiled, albeit feral as he put his hand on Derek’s shoulder.

“Don’t touch your pack mates with that. It could give them major injuries until you can control it. That goes for you guys, as well.” He told Boyd and Cora sternly. 

“Why would it hurt us? It’s just a weapon.” Cora murmured. Stiles scowled at that, reaching over to grip Derek’s wrist.

“You think it won’t hurt you? Come over here, then.” Cora hesitated before scoffing and shaking her head.

“You’re just trying to psyche me out. It’s only a piece of metal, nothing more.” Strolling over with her head held high, she raised her eyebrows at him.

“Kensy, get your hoodie ready.” He murmured while he approached Cora. Derek followed along blindly, biting his lip as he eyed his mate and sister.

“You Hales all have the same problem. You never look further into a situation, always jumping to your own conclusions.” Grasping her arm, he pushed the brass into the skin above her wrist. Cora gasped, trying to step back but Stiles held her firm. Her skin began to split under the metal, smoke rising and blood trickling from the point of contact.

“Stop it, stop!” She screamed, trying to jerk her arm back. Derek tried to pull his arm back too, staring at Stiles wide eyed as he continued to press it down. Boyd stepped forward as if to stop him, but stayed by Cora’s side at Kensy’s look.

“Stiles, quit it.” Derek growled. Stiles glanced at him, letting go of the wailing Cora and grabbing the hoodie Kensy held out to him silently. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Cora glared through misty eyes. Stiles examined the wound as Derek threw the knuckles off of himself, crouching next to Cora and trying to take her pain away before he realized he couldn’t. 

“Every weapon I just showed you, I made myself.” He spoke lowly, his cold eyes focused on cleaning her arm. There were four stab wounds, each about an inch or so deep and the width of a penny. The rim of the wounds were burned, blistering until they were a light pink.

“These are the duds, the ones my pack felt were the weakest after seeing everything I’ve created.” Taking a small vial out of his back pocket, he poured it onto her skin. Her breath hitched and Boyd and Derek’s hands tightened on her shoulders.

“This one though, this was one of my favorites. Anything that it’s not familiar with, it harms. Four blades snap out once it recognizes skin or fur alike, and when the blades are embedded in the skin, it starts heating up. The longer it’s in contact, the hotter the blades get.” 

He glanced up, seeing their horrified faces. Cora stared at her wrist, hiccuping occasionally. 

“Luckily for you, I didn’t hold it long enough to permanently scar. The medicine I poured onto it should heal it within the next hour or two.” He ripped off the arm of the hoodie, wrapping it around her wrist and tying a knot. As soon as he let go, she pulled her arm to her chest.

Stiles stood up, making eye contact with all of them and pushing away the guilt at their expressions, their faces full of fear and caution. Derek's had the added factor of disappointment. Marley was snarling at him, scolding him for harming his mate's sister. Stiles ignored him with the ease years and years of practice gave him. 

“Everything I tell you, I tell you for a reason. I don’t intend to hurt you guys, but I’ll do what I need to in order to get my point across.” All of them stared at him as he retreated to Kensy’s side picking up the brass knuckles on the way. 

“I’ll buy you a new one later.” He murmured to her with a kiss on her temple. 

“Alright, back to training. Derek, you’re first. Cora will go last since she’s hurt.” 

Derek patted his sister one more time, meeting up with Kensy.

“Kensy, no holding back.” She rolled her eyes at him, shifting her stance so her hands were loose by her sides.

“When do I?” She grumbled.

“Ready, set-” Kensy shot forward before Stiles could finish, sending Derek to sprawl on the ground with a punch to his chest. 

“Rule one,” Kensy sang as she held out a hand. Derek grabbed it, a ‘thanks’ on his tongue before he was forced onto his stomach and had his arm pinned to his back. “Always expect the unexpected.” She finished with a laugh.

“Again!” Stiles barked. 

Boyd and Cora shared a look, wondering what they signed themselves up for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So my plan for updates is every Saturday with the occasional weekday thrown in depending on my schedule. Next chapter will mainly be Derek helping Stiles with Marley, along with a follow up on how all the other trainee's are doing. Thank you so much for your support, this is my first story and I'm amazed at how far it's gotten and how a lot of people actually like it! XOXO


	15. Suppressants

Marcus sipped his champagne as he stroked Dallas’ fur, chuckling when the feline began to purr. They both twitched when they heard multiple footsteps heading their way, watching as the first group staggered inside.

Laura was holding onto Isaac’s shoulder with both hands, her mouth twisted into a pained frown whenever she put weight on her right leg. Isaac’s eyes were red rimmed and Marcus could sympathize, staring at his shirt that was matted with blood, sticking to the torn skin underneath.

“How was the first-” Marcus began pleasantly. 

“Who won?” Thomas interrupted from the ground, pulling the blanket back over his shoulder as he tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth. 

“At least look at them when you’re talking, damn.” Kali scolded with a huff. Ennis chuckled and leaned in, rolling his eyes and smiling when Kali lightly pushed him away.

“Says the woman who has a baby with a man she doesn’t want to cuddle with.” Thomas scoffed. 

“Hey, that has nothing to do with what I was saying! And don’t make fun of a pregnant woman, what the hell is wrong with you!” She growled with a grin. Thomas scoffed, tossing the pillow he was using at her.

“Do me a favor and use that to shut yourself up.” 

“I would rather stuff it up your good for nothing ass, you fucki-”

“Children, if you could get some sense of maturity so I can converse with our guests, it would be much appreciated.” Marcus grunted. Aiden and Kate strolled through, joking around as they walked around Laura and Isaac.

“What’s going on? And what’s for dinner?” Kate dipped down to kiss her husband before heading into the kitchen where Charles was reading.

“Are you just going to ignore the fact that we’re literally bleeding out in front of you?” Laura asked incredulously. 

“Of course not. We’re just waiting for Stiles to show up. He’s the one who takes care of injuries along with Brooke. They usually share the load since they use their spark to heal the worst of it.” Aiden informed, stealing the bowl of popcorn next to Thomas and arranging it on his lap.

“And how long will that be?”

“Brooke’s about five minutes away with Scott, but Stiles should be here sooner. He’s having his group run back.”

“What about Jackson?” Laura quipped with a worried frown.

“I don’t think he’ll be back until we start group conditioning. Ellen mentioned that she was going to take him away for a couple days.” Kate answered. She made her way next to Marcus and sat on the stool next to him, offering a bite of her sandwich.

“Oh.”

Isaac grimaced as he tried to read their lips. They were talking way to fast for him and he could already feel a panic attack approaching. Were they talking about him? What if he did something wrong? He didn’t think he did, but then again he managed a couple of lucky shots on Aiden and Kate. Was that bad? 

Laura’s grip tightened and his eyes shot to her face. 

‘It’s all good. Nothing about you.’ She mouthed slowly. He nodded as a flush appeared on his cheeks. 

“What were they-” He began, only to flinch when Brooke was in front of him holding a knocked out Scott.

“What the hell did you do? We haven’t had anyone pass out in a while. And I thought you said that Stiles would be here first?” Ennis aimed the last question at Kate. Her response was a shrug and deliberate bite from her sandwich. 

“We passed them up because Stiles found out Boyd and Derek were carrying Cora so he made them start over. He should be here in a minute, though. And I think he’s just tired. I had him play lacrosse with me and he was going at it pretty hard the entire day. He had a panic attack and then slipped on something. Once he calmed down he just knocked out.” Brooke announced as she laid him on the empty couch. 

“Panic attacks? What caused it?” Marcus frowned. 

“I think he was overly paranoid because of his asthma. He said he kind of forgot how it felt after not dealing with it for years and when it hit him he forgot his old techniques to calm down. So, yeah. He had a bit of an attack.”

“And is he okay now?” 

Brooke shot a glance at him, tilting her head at the question. “I mean, he’s still breathing and he isn’t bleeding like Laura and Isaac, so I’d say yeah, he’s fine. Speaking of, what the hell happened to you two?” 

“We took away their sight and hearing and-”

“No, I know that part already. But why is no one putting pressure on Isaac’s wound? You guys know that’s my favorite spot!” She whined. 

“We were waiting for you and Stiles since you guys are the ones who take care of the injuries.” Thomas grunts. “Besides, Stiles is already here.” 

“Thanks for the announcement, buddy.” Stiles huffs as he walks in. Brooke pauses as she catches a glimpse of his expression before he smiles. She knows that expression like the back of her hand, and if he’s feeling that guilty about something she’s going to have to have a long talk with him. _Again_.

“Alright. Injury reports. Hit me.” He ordered as he sat Derek and Cora on the couch, giving a thankful grin to Aiden and Kate when they stood up. Boyd settled for standing behind them, setting a hand on each of their shoulders to show his support.

“Right. Laura has a lateral malleolus ankle fracture, left foot. She has a couple of bruises and scratches but that’s the worst of it. Isaac has a cut on his side from a rock when he tripped. It’s about an inch or so deep and maybe four or five inches wide.” Kate summed up.

Stiles nodded at her, waiting for Brooke’s input.

“Nothing too bad. Just a sprained wrist and pulled back muscle.” She informed. 

“Good. All right then, I guess my team’s the worst of it. Boyd has a double shoulder dislocation. Posterior and inferior. Cora has a tender hand from the brass knuckles I made a couple years ago and she may have fractured her hip bone. Derek has a couple broken fingers from trying to save a fall and two cracked ribs.”

“I can take the fractures and hip bone if you do the ribs and cut.” Brooke offered as she rolled up her sleeves. 

Stiles nodded, kneeling in front of Derek and gently picking up his right hand. “I’m going to do your fingers first so that you can lay down for the next part. It’ll be easier to heal them that way.” 

“Okay.” Derek nodded, taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes. Stiles tuned him out, letting a bit of his spark out to sink into the pores and structure of Derek’s hand. Once he had it placed around Derek’s index and middle fingers, he shaped his spark into a spiral around the bone and tugged, ensuring the bone was put together properly before tugging. Derek’s breath hitched, turning into a grunt once Stiles began to slowly take away the spiral he had made, double checking that the bone would stay in place and that it was healed.

“Alright, turn over.” He said with a pat to Derek’s knee. When the man didn’t move, he glanced up with a confused frown. “What?”

“How did you do that?” Derek’s eyes were wide and filled with awe as wiggled his fingers, brimming with curiosity. 

“I just put the bone back together. There were a couple of small cracks so I just nudged the little pieces back together. Now flip.” 

Derek mumbled something under his breath, rolling his eyes when Stiles glared at him.

“You know, I was expecting you to be in a lot more pain.” Stiles told him as he repeated the healing process. 

“Who’s to say I’m not? I’m just good at hiding pain.”

“That’s one of the fucking saddest things I’ve ever-”

“Stiles!” Deucalion barked, glaring at his son as he tightened the hold on the package he was carrying. 

“Damn, dad. What’s got you so riled-” Stiles paled as he saw what he was holding, letting go of Derek’s shirt. He stood up, conscious of how everyone stopped talking. Thankfully, Brooke kept working as she listened in.

“What did I tell you about this? We had an agreement, Stiles.” His dad glared at him with a small shake of the bag.

“Can’t we do this somewhere else?” He growled through clenched teeth. 

“What is it, Deuc?” Marcus inquired as he stepped beside him.

“He’s taking those damn pills again.” 

“Pills?” Derek’s eyes widened, looking over his mate for any sign of injury. How could he have missed that? 

“It’s nothing. I’ve been doing it for years now.” Stiles defended himself with a frown. Aiden glared at him, going over to where he was standing and smacking the back of his head.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? They almost killed you last time, Stiles.”

Derek growled, trying to get up and glaring at Brooke when she held him down.

“Let me just fix your ribs quick, then you can do whatever you want.” She assured. 

“What almost killed him?” Derek asked desperately. 

Deucalion leveled him with cold eyes, holding up the small bag.

“Shifting suppressors. They block his fox and their senses. The last time he took them he nearly did because his spark was trying to overtake Marley. They’re supposed to be equal within him and without that equilibrium he grew weak and sick.” 

“Why would you do that?” Derek asked him. Stiles didn’t respond, but then again he wasn’t really expecting an answer. 

“I talked to Paola. She said it would be fine if I started out with a lower dose and built myself up.”

Deucalion scoffed, shaking his head as he walked up to his son. “I don’t care what that woman says. You aren’t taking these. Not again.” Stiles glared at him, reaching for the bag and snarling when Deucalion caught his wrist.

“I won’t allow you.” He spoke softly, all the more terrifying to Derek. He looked around and noticed how everyone was tense, avoiding looking at the two men. 

“I don’t see what the-”

“You’re dying, Stiles! That’s what the big deal is!” There was a short period of silence before everyone began speaking at once.

“You’re _dying_ Why the hell didn’t you tell us?” Kate screamed.

Dallas shifted back, ignoring her nudity in favor of punching Stiles. “Is that what you were talking to Patrick about? Those suppressants?”

“No. We were talking about herbs for another pack that I wanted him to collect. And I’m not dying, dad.” Stiles told him calmly as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. 

“You will be if you keep taking these. I know you don’t like shifting, I’ve known that since you chose your spark over your fox. But that doesn’t mean you abandon your responsibilities for Marley all together. And what Paola said? I just came back from one of her clients. I needed to cut off one of their legs because that woman gave them the wrong thing. I don’t trust her, Stiles, and I won’t let you take anything from her. If I see you with these again or catch word that you’re using them, we’re going to have problems.” 

“I can’t control it,” Stiles hissed. “I don’t know how to shift anymore unless it’s a spell, or I’m in a life or death situation where my instincts kick in. I’m useless when I’m in a beta shift so what’s the damn point?”

“The point is that you still have the instinct and without Marley you’ll die. Don’t you remember how strong you were when Marley was fighting by your side? You two killed three packs of wolves, Stiles. You protected us all, the both of you. You can’t think that that’s useless.” Deucalion’s voice softened at the end. 

“I don’t remember how to get him out willingly.” 

“And that’s why Derek will teach you. Right, Derek?”

Derek swallowed as he wrapped his head around the situation. His mate was killing himself? And all because he was worried about shifting? He began to scowl before the question fully registered, then made sure his face was blank. 

“That’s why I’m here. We’re doing a trade off here, Stiles. You help me and I help you.” Stiles stared at him, then at his dad before sighing.

“You’re going to have to let go of my wrist.”

“And why’s that?” Deucalion asked, the hint of a threat on the edge of his tone.

“Because if you want me to start learning then you’re going to need to let go so he can show me.”

“That’s the spirit.” Deucalion let him go and used the same hand to rub his head with a small smile. 

“Yeah, yeah. You ready, Derek?”

Derek was already by the door, arms crossed and glaring at the ground.

“I’m waiting for you.” 

“You don’t have to sound excited about it.” Stiles mumbled.

They stopped in a clearing about half a mile out before Derek told him to sit down.

“I don’t get why you were taking them. The suppressants, I mean.” Stiles groaned loudly and tossed his head back.

“Because I couldn’t control the shift and I didn’t want the fangs to pop out while I was out grocery shopping.”

“Why didn’t you ask any of your pack mates?”

“They all had their own stuff going on and I didn’t want to bother them.”

“So you chose to suffer?” Derek snapped. Stiles glared at him and he nearly flinched at the intensity he was faced with.

“I don’t expect you to understand my reasons for doing what I did. But that doesn’t mean I deserve to be yelled at for doing what I thought was right at the time.”

“And that time is still happening. How did they even work?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Stiles frowned.

“It helps me get a better understanding of what’s been going on. How did it suppress Marley?”

“It just put him to sleep for a while. I would take them occasionally and Marley would be asleep for a couple days. That was it.” 

“Stiles, it’s not ‘just’ anything. You know what you’re doing, right? If what your father said was true then you would be dead within a couple years if you kept knocking him out. Your spark would take over fully and that balance you were going on about during training today would be gone.”

Stiles opened his mouth before closing it. He rubbed a hand over his face and leaned against a tree.

“I get it, okay? I messed up. Can we please move on from this now?”

“As long as you promise me something.” Derek amended.

“And what’s that?”

“You tell me when you’re feeling the urge again.”

Stiles studied him for a long time, giving a short nod once Derek rose an eyebrow.

“Deal.”

“Great. Now bring out Marley.” 

“Weren’t you listening? I can’t just bring him out willingly.”

“You said you still have the instincts, though.” Derek grinned.

“And?”

“And foxes are classified as prey while wolves are predators. So, I’m going to get Marley out of you one way or another.”

Stiles gaped, eyes widening as he realized what he was saying.

“Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Try again because I refuse to run around like a mad-” Stiles yelped as Derek lunged at him, scrambling to his feet and taking off in the opposite direction. 

“I hate you, Hale!” He yelled behind him.

“Keep running!”

They eventually managed to get Marley out, although they were bitter about it. Stiles sat beside Derek and glared at the fox who was prancing around the wolf, gleefully yipping whenever he saw the wolf still had his attention.

“I can’t believe that’s all we needed to do. We’ve been running for hours and you let out Orion for a second and he comes out.”

“I didn’t think of it, but I guess it makes sense. If the animal side of us sees their mate out, it’s only expected that they’ll want to be out as well.”

“I guess.” Stiles grumbled. “So what do we do now?” 

“You bond with him.” Derek told him with a grin. He loved bonding with Orion personally, all they did was read and cuddle or go out for jogs and hikes.

“What do you mean? How do you bond?”

“What do you like to do?”

“Sleep. Research. Train.” Derek raised an eyebrow while his lips quirked. 

“How about you guys try going for a walk instead? It’ll be quiet and you can go at your own pace while you work things out. You can sense his emotions, right?”

Stiles nodded, watching with a faint grin as Marley played with Orion’s tail. “Yeah, I can talk with him too, kind of. It’s more of a he projects his thoughts to me and I respond kind of deal.”

Derek nodded. “That works too. Just go hang out with him. You guys were close before so I don’t think it’ll take too long to get both of you on the same track.”

“And once we do that?”

“It’ll be a lot easier to shift because the relationship between you will be stronger. Trust me.” They stared at one another, Stiles scrutinizing him and Derek holding his ground while fighting off the blush.

“Okay.” He watched with a beam as Stiles walked up to their shifts, asking Marley to follow him with a hesitant smile. This was a new side of Stiles and he was grateful that the man trusted him enough to show it. They weren’t at the point in their relationship where he could hug Stiles yet, but he could feel their bond getting stronger by a slim amount every day. 

And when Derek could finally wrap his arms around his mate?

That would be the day where everything he’s done would be worth the effort he’d put in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled a bit with this chapter, but I've got a hold on the pacing and the ride that's going to get us to the end. I also came up with a different story idea that I'll be starting so I can post directly once this one is over. As always, thank you for your continued support and feel free to correct me on any errors or things you want to see happen. XOXOXO


	16. Reunions

Stiles stared at Marley, blinking as the silence dragged on. The fox was licking his front paw, keeping eye contact with him and Stiles swore that he was being either laughed at or judged. Probably both. 

“So. How’ve you been?” He asked as he traced patterns into his jeans. Marley snorted, putting his paw down and plopping himself directly in front of him. He stared at him imploringly, blinking slowly as he cocked his head.

“I don’t know what you want. You can talk just fine, so why don’t you put your two cents in, huh?” Stiles huffed. The fox had the audacity to roll his eyes at him.

 _You ditched me for three years, put me to sleep for the majority of that time, and only then did you use our shift. And that was because our coven put a spell on you. Then when we found our mate, you stuff me right back in the damn mindset thing we have going on. I just want an explanation._ Marley vocalizes, a mixture of a growl and a whine, as if that didn’t just break Stiles and his already scarred heart.

Stiles deflated as guilt flooded him. He knew what he had done was wrong, but he didn’t know the effect it had on Marley. He genuinely thought the fox had just been sleeping peacefully while he grieved. Paola had told him Marley would be comfortable, and knowing that they could share emotions, the last thing Stiles wanted to do was share his negativity with the eccentric fox.

“You already know what happened with Mckenna.” He began stiffly. The fox gave a sharp nod as he inched a little closer.

_Comfort_ , Stiles thought to himself. Something warmed in his chest and he let out the majority of the air in his lungs, trying to relax against the sturdy bark behind him. Marley nudged his foot after a while, impatience winning out any kind of empathy and Stiles couldn’t help but snort. 

“Long story short, I focused more on training than I did on us. I didn’t realize that it meant losing you along with the extra senses. I thought that you just got fed up with me and started to ignore me, so I didn’t want to bother you. Then when I got transported to the Hale’s, I could hear you loud and clear and I freaked. Patrick sorted me out, though.” 

He sat up, pulling his knees to his chest as he gazed at Marley. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for ditching and then blaming you, I’m sorry for not trying as hard as you were, I’m sorry for being ignorant and I’m sorry for keeping you away from your mate.” He told him softly. Marley held his eye for what felt like hours. Finally, he stood up and placed his two front paws on Stiles’ knees.

 _You’re one of the biggest dumbasses I’ve ever seen, but you’re my dumbass partner and if you die, so do I._ Marley told him with a twinkle in his eye. 

Stiles snorted. “And I thought I had the worst apologies.” 

_We do have to work on our shift more, though. I was nearly drained when we shifted last time._

“Yeah? How do we do that?”

Marley looked where he knew Derek was a couple miles behind them. 

_Derek already agreed to help us. I was thinking about it and it makes sense to me. It helps that he’s a wolf, too. Orion can help me with the energy transfers and Derek can you with controlling it._

Stiles couldn’t bring up an argument for that so he settled with a head nod and standing up. Marley followed his lead, trotting alongside him with an air of a peculiar smugness. He couldn’t help but grin, especially when the fox allowed him to run his hands through the fur on the nape of his neck and shoulders. 

Derek groaned loudly as Stiles, once again, failed to get into his beta shift. Marley sat beside Stiles, panting and glaring at his partner. Stiles hung his head and clenched his fist before punching the rough bark.

“Dammit!” He growled. Derek sighed, putting a placating hand on his shoulder.

“You need to-”

“Focus, I know!” Stiles snapped. He shrugged off his hand and began to pace, mumbling under his breath.

“What are you concentrating on the most?” Derek asked, dragging his hand over his face. 

Stiles stilled as he thought about it. “Converting the energy to be able to shift. Wait, that’s the problem, right?” 

He continued on before Derek could confirm his thought process. 

“Okay, I’m going to try to convert one thing at a time. What should I do first? The ears? Tail? Hey, why don’t you guys have a tail when you shift, huh? That makes no-”

“Stiles, focus!” Derek barked. Stiles blinked, huffing as he turned towards Marley.

“One more time, yeah?” With a short yip, Marley trotted towards Stiles and leaned his body weight against his leg. Stiles’ lips thinned as he concentrated on the energy he was receiving, pushing his spark away gently to make room for Marley’s, and shaping new reserves in place of the ones his spark left as they moved.

 _Ears and eyes, Stiles. Ears and eyes, Ears and eyes, Ears and eyes._ He repeated. Just as he finished connecting the last reserve to his energy a soft sounding pop rang in his ears. 

Grinning, he glanced at Marley before setting his eyes on Derek. “I did it, right?” 

Derek stared at him with a blank face. Frowning, Stiles brought his hands to the top of his head. Once he felt the velvet set of ears, he relaxed and brought a hand to point at Derek with a glare.

“Hey! Why’d you make it seem like they weren’t there? I worked hard and the least you could do is congratulate- what are you doing?” His eyes widened as Derek’s hand hovered above his left ear. His fingers were close enough that he could feel them twitch and he realized with a start that Derek actually wanted to touch them. 

“Um. You, uh…. You can touch them, if you want.” He couldn’t help but fidget under the wolf’s stare, cursing himself for acting like a middle schooler again. He’s _been_ there, okay? And it wasn’t pretty. 

A light stroke around the base had him stiffening and Derek paused, his teeth biting into his bottom lip. His eyes were questioning him, and with a high flush on his cheeks, Stiles gave a shaky nod. The fingers were slower this time, running through his hair before cupping one and tracing the outer rim gently. 

Eyes fluttering shut, Stiles was powerless to do anything but relax and push his head further into the warm palm. Derek’s breath hitched, murmuring a soft ‘cute’ and resumed the caress before Stiles could voice his indignation. He felt the vibrations in the back of his throat before the sound was loud enough to be heard. 

“Are you purring?” Derek questioned softly, the tips of his mouth curling upwards. Stiles froze before stepping away and waving his hand, ignoring the added coloring to his cheeks.

“Pfft, ‘course not. What do you think I am, a cat?” He continued on, seeing how Derek was already grinning. “Do you hear that? I think my dad’s calling us, c’mon. The last thing you want is to make that man angry, trust me.” 

Derek watched, dazed and joyous, as Stiles ran towards the house.

The following days were exhausting. Cora was either constantly sore, tired, hungry, emotional, or all of the above. Stiles was absolutely brutal, she’d learned. No matter what excuse or reason she came up with, he had twenty more to keep her going. She was sure that she would catch a break when she ended up vomiting in front of him, but he had just grinned and patted her shoulder, praising her on her hard work.

Glancing across the room, she felt a quick flash of sympathy for her sister and Isaac. She didn’t know how their training sessions went, but based on how they all but passed out the minute they came back, Kate and Aiden were just as merciless as Stiles was. She couldn’t help but get a couple laughs in though, seeing as how Laura ran into nearly everything the first couple days. If it wasn’t the door, it was the shoe she had just taken off. Either way, she saw Isaac snickering more than once so she knew she wasn’t the only one. 

Jackson and Ellen had scared the living shit out of them the night prior, somehow sneaking up on them while they were watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. They had only realized because Charles, who had been sleeping in the corner recliner, had woken up and ripped them a new one for not noticing them sooner. Cora tried her best to avoid him, after that. She still recalled how his eyes had turned to daggers, his sharp tongue reprimanding them and emphasizing his point.

Scott was the best off, in her opinion. He came back to the house every night with a grin, stumbling over his words in an excited rush to tell them what new thing he had learned. Stiles was all about hearing about his feedback, taking notes and calling Brooke over when he had a question or wanted to follow up on something. 

The point was, everyone except Scott was miserable and the world now had every reason to fear the friendship between Jackson and Ellen. Which is why she nearly fell off the when Stiles made the announcement after dinner. 

“Are you serious? You aren’t just playing us?” Laura perked up.

Stiles laughed at her, his eyes sparkling. “Nope, nothing but the truth here. Besides, you guys did great. You learned at a faster pace than the last bunch, even. We’re right on schedule, which means that you guys are going to have your own furry reunion tomorrow.” 

“Oh, thank you Jesus.” Laura shouted. Deucalion chuckled from the couch, closing his laptop and setting it aside.

“Even though you complained every chance you got, you persevered and that’s the kind of strength that will get you through many hardships.”

“No,” Stiles groaned. “Don’t start with the speeches, _please_.” Draping himself across his dad’s back, he grinned when his hair was ruffled and pushed away playfully.

“This is tradition, Stiles. I’m just acknowledging the hard work they’ve done.”

“They don’t need a full on rant, dad.”

“How are we going to get our wolves back? Will it be the same way you took them out?” Scott asked excitedly, his face paling when he realized he’d cut off Deucalion. The alpha chuckled, however, so he didn’t think he was in trouble.

“It’s going to be easier, actually. Now that I know where they’re located inside of you guys, I just pull my energy back from where it was blocking them, and bam! Wolf reunion’s left and right.” 

Boyd grinned lazily, sinking into the couch and knocking shoulders with Brooke when she forced herself between Aiden and himself. 

“So why can’t we do it tonight?” Isaac grunted after reading the messages Laura sent. 

“That’s a good point, I’m anxious to get Orion back.” Derek agreed. 

“Your body has to be rested. That’s why we gave you today off, because it will hit you a lot harder if we give back the wolves right after you’re done training.” Austin supplied with a beam and proud nod of his head. 

“What he means is that you’ll already be sporting a pretty big headache and your eyes and ears will be more sensitive for a couple hours along with your nose. It’s just to try and save you a couple of aches and pains.” Kate explained further. 

“Makes sense.” Boyd responded, watching out of the corner of his eye as Jackson and Ellen spoke lowly to one another. “I still don’t understand how you two became friends.”

Jackson smirked at him, although it was warmer than the the others he previously aimed at him, softer at the edges. 

“She helped me find out who I want to be.” He told him vaguely with a shrug. “Anyway, I’m going to head to bed, I think. The sooner I fall asleep, the sooner Fang can come back.” 

Stiles snorted, leaning on the armchair that Derek was occupying. “No way did you name your wolf that. That’s awful.”

“I’d like to see you come up with a better one.” Jackson challenged. 

Stiles didn’t miss a beat. “The Great Mage's Echo, Echo for short.”

“What the- that’s worse than mine!”

“No way! That’s a prime name right there, premium and exclusive.”

“That makes no sense, Stiles.” Deucalion sighed, fond exasperation evident in his tone.

Derek grinned to himself as his mate snarked back, alternating between his father and Jackson. He met Boyd’s eyes from across the room and shrugged sheepishly at the amused look that met him. He couldn’t deny how he felt lighter, he wouldn’t even try to hide the way he perked up whenever Stiles interacted with him. Whether he would complain about lack of sleep and follow that up with napping on him, or rope him into conversations and wrestling matches, Derek didn’t have a chance of wiping the smile off his face. 

According to his best friend’s eye roll, he confirmed the thought.

Deucalion chuckled at Marcus’ comment. They were lounging on the couch and watching as Stiles returned the wolves to the Hales. Both of them always found the progress amusing, but this group was one of the most dramatic compared to the others.

Laura was sprawled out on the grass, face down and covering both of her ears. Derek was leaning sitting stiffly, Boyd, Cora, and Isaac leaning on him while they breathed deeply. Jackson was moaning and complaining beside them while the others growled at him to shut his mouth. It was all a circle that ended with irritated growls at one another until Kate cracked and began to laugh. She chastised them for not being ‘pack friendly’, grinning widely at the returned glares. 

“They’re certainly one of the more rowdy bunches we’ve had.” Deucalion agreed.

Marcus snorted. “The only group I can think of is when Patrick volunteered to help out. Wasn’t that something?”

He winced a little, reminded of the amount of money they had to spend due to damages. None of them were from the trainees, just Stiles and Patrick being themselves and egging each other on. “Well, Stiles was known to be the life of the party.”

Marcus hummed in acknowledgement. 

They watched as Stiles teased Derek and the small grin on the man’s face as he listened to the playful taunts. 

Deucalion smiled, turning back to the documentary playing on the TV. He knew that Stiles was still caught in a web of agonizing pain, but Talia’s son could ease that given enough time and he was more than grateful. If all worked out, Stiles would begin opening up more. He didn’t worry, though. Marley knew his son just as much as he did, the little pest may be annoyingly nosy, but he was loyal to a fault and incredibly clever and perceptive. Not to mention he didn't have a problem with speaking his mind and calling people out. That was more than he could ask for when it came to his son. 

Chuckling, he took a sip of his drink. Yes, everything would work out just fine. All in due time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I am so sorry for the long wait, my best friend recently passed away and it took my family and I by surprise. I finally dug myself out of the hole I had made and I'm happy to say that my schedule is back in action. Thank you to everyone who found this story interesting enough to wait and support me through the temporary hiatus. I love you all and can't thank you enough. XOXO


	17. Approval

Stiles groaned as he stirred awake, stretching his arms and yawning widely. An amused huff had him snapping his head to his left and he froze at what he saw. Mckenna was sitting with her legs stretched in front of her, her hair tied in an intricate side braid and her reading glasses perched delicately on her nose as she read one of their books. 

“Mickey,” He breathed. 

“Hey, honey!” She chirped with a grin. “As much as I love seeing your confused face - still adorable, by the way- we need to chat.” Stiles realized what was going on as she closed the book, counting the extra fingers on her hands. 

“This is a dream.” He deadpanned. “My mate somehow entered my dream space and completely blindsided me with emotions that I have yet to process.” 

“Well, you always did say the spark we put into our tree would create miracles, no?” Stiles stared at her, face open and vulnerable. Mckenna sighed, hunching over her shoulders and interlocking her fingers together. “Can you hold off on that whole freaking out part? Just for a while? I really want to talk to you about something important.”

Stiles wordlessly adjusted himself so he was facing her. “I’m going to remind you that there’s a lot of things, and I’m talking about _a lot_ of things that I want to talk to you about, too. Including how you killed yourself in front of me.”

She winced at that, her lips twisting together into a sheepish frown. “Yeah, not my best moment, I’ll admit. But I had to save you, Stiles. You and the pack, you guys are my family of course I wasn’t going to let some demon fox or whatever the hell else get to you.”

“I could’ve saved you!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up and twisting them in his hair, frustration seeping out of him. “I could’ve saved you, Mckenna. We lost our baby, I already knew that. But I would’ve had _you_.” His voice broke and he didn’t even try to wipe away the lone tear that escaped, knowing more were coming.

She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and apologizing into his ear. Gradually, his sobs receded into small whimpers and he could hear faint humming over the blood rushing in his ears and his pounding heart. Mckenna had a few stray tears running down her face also, but she was smiling down at him when he glanced at her. 

“I really am sorry, Stiles. Not for what I did, because I know it was the right thing to do, but I’m sorry for everything I left for you to handle by yourself. But we’re running out of time and I really want to talk to you about something.” 

“Yeah, what’s that?” He sighed. 

“Your mate.” She rolled her eyes at his impassiveness and slapped his thigh. “Derek, Stiles. I’m talking about Derek Hale.”

He recoiled at the name, guilt flooding him as he shook his head wildly. “You don’t need to worry about him, I have it under control. We’re just going to be friends because everything I’ve read said as long as I’m in his life he’ll be okay, so we don’t need to date or-”

“You want to, though.” She interrupted gently. He stilled, staring at her with wide eyes. “I see everything, Stiles. I may be dead but we both put so much of ourselves into and around our territory that I’m not surprised something like this would happen. It took me a while to figure out how to conserve enough energy to do this, but it helped a lot since you buried us right under our tree. There’s a ton of roots wrapped around me and I was able to borrow a little from them. Anyway, back to the serious stuff.” 

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before opening them and giving Stiles her best stern look that always had him paying extra attention to her. “Listen, I know how much this all sucks. Since I started collecting enough of the tree’s spark for this to happen, I’ve missed you every second I’ve been here and I’m sure it’s a thousand times worse for you. But I’m dead, Stiles. I don’t have a life to live anymore. No emotions to feel or new sights and events to experience. But you do.”

Stiles sat rigid, staring at her face and noting how pale she looked. “What are you saying?” He grunted.

“I’m saying that I’m your mate. But you have another one, and he’s crazy for you, Stiles. I know that you’re interested, too and that you’re feeling guilty for liking him, which is bullshit. You deserve to be happy, babe.” She grinned sadly at him, and yet he could see the truth pouring out of her. He didn’t know how to deal with this, what to say or do. What could he do? She’d be gone when he woke up and he’d have to sort all of this out and-

“Stiles-”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He told her as he held up a hand. “I don’t know what to do. You’re here and all I want to do is talk to you and cuddle and pretend you’re still here. Why did you do this? What was the point?” He whispered hoarsely. 

“I’m giving you my approval, Stiles. Not that you need anyone’s approval, least of all mine, but I know you and I know that you would be beating yourself up the rest of your life if we didn’t have this chat.” She gripped both of his hands in hers and tugged him closer, guiding his arms around her and hugging him back tightly. 

“I love you and I always will, but I can’t do anything now. Derek can. He’s a good man, Stiles. He’s capable and loyal, passionate and patient and everything a person could want in a spouse. And the best part? He’s yours. Just like you’re his. Give him a chance and don’t feel guilty about doing it. If our roles were reversed you would be telling me the same thing.” 

They were silent as he processed, the atmosphere melancholy and bittersweet. Stiles knew they were running out of time, could feel it as Mckenna’s presence lessened and as he started to hear the familiar signs of his pack waking up. Feeling a surge of panic, he gripped her shoulders and stared into the eyes he had fallen in love with. 

“Kiss me.” He demanded. Pleaded, more likely, but he didn’t focus on that. Her shoulders slumped and her eyebrows pulled together as her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip.

“Stiles, I don’t think-”

“If I’m going to do this, I need closure. We cleared up some stuff and I’m sure I’ll fill in the blanks later, but right now the only thing I can think of is that we hadn’t kissed in days when you died.”

Her arms locked around his neck and she leaned her forehead against his, gazing heavily into his own red rimmed orbs. “Promise me that you’ll give him a chance. That you’ll give yourself a chance to be happy again.” She whispered against his jaw.

“I promise.” With a decisive nod, she leaned in and softly pressed her lips against his own. It was an innocent kiss, full of silent apologies and promises and Stiles was nearly overwhelmed with it all. He already knew he would have to talk to his dad about this unless he wanted to have a panic attack later.

Mckenna was the one to break away, giving him one last peck before smiling. “Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me and the sacrifices you made for us. I’m happy knowing that you’ll put yourself out there without the guilt.”

“I did promise, didn’t I? It’s going to be weird though.” He admitted. 

“What? Kissing a man?” She cocked her head, beginning to fade. Stiles ignored it and followed her lead.

“No, not that. I knew I was bi before I met you. I guess it’s just the thought of…” he trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence. The thought of being happy? Of loving someone again and being loved in turn? Of having somebody to wake up next to?

Mckenna seemed to understand, though. “Communication is key. Just talk everything out and maybe set boundaries.” They watched as her lower body disappeared, traveling faster up her body. 

“Oh, yeah! I don’t know how I managed it but somehow I did and tell Kali and Ennis I love that name for their baby and thank them for me. Tell them it means a lot. And don’t you forget what we talked about, either, Stiles.” She sent him one last grin before going away completely, and Stiles awoke with a jerk. 

He came face to face with a whining fox, Marley squirming in his lap and trying to get closer to him.

“It’s okay.” Stiles told him, repeating himself as he stroked the soft coat. “Everything will be okay.”

He decided to skip breakfast, seeing as how he was focused on figuring out what the hell had happened. Nobody bothered him while he was cooped up and he was so incredibly grateful that they gave him his space. His dad called him down after a while and while he wasn’t prepared to tell him the details, he was ready to tell his dad what had happened.

He passed his pack and the Hale’s as he made his way for the office. Of course, Derek was already looking his way and the following eye contact was inevitable. Something pleasant and light swooped in his stomach while his heart skipped a beat, and he gave Derek a shy grin when the man’s eyes dropped to his heart with a confused frown.

Before he could say anything, Stiles power walked down the hall until he met the large oak door, knocking once before shoving it open and slamming it behind him.

“Hello to you too, son. Yes, I had a good night’s rest, what about you?” Deucalion drawled dryly. 

“I had a dream and I’m freaking out and that is not how I planned on starting this conversation out.” Stiles dropped onto the couch and groaned. 

“Must’ve been some dream if you’re coming to talk to me about it.” Nonetheless, his dad made his way over and nudged his feet off so he could sit down. 

“Mckenna somehow did this thing where we could talk for a bit and she apologized and I apologized and then she told me not to feel guilty about the feelings I have for Derek and how she was happy I was going to be happy and to give him a chance and-”

“Stiles, breathe.” His dad cut in. He rubbed a hand down his back and Stiles deflated, running his hands over his face. He looked a bit shaken but Stiles couldn’t blame him in the least because both of them were blindsided. 

“I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.” He peaked out of the holes his fingers created and frowned when his dad didn’t say anything.

“All I can tell you to do is to do what you think is right. You like Derek, yes?” At his short nod, he continued. “Take it slow, then. If Mckenna told you not to be guilty, then don’t be guilty. I know it’s easier said than done but I agree with her when she said to give him a chance. You’ve been getting to know him over the last couple weeks, son. He seems very understanding.” 

A heavy silence followed while Stiles calmed himself. His dad’s hand on his shoulder helped to ground him and he leaned into his side more as he figured out the cause for his panic. 

“I’m scared.” He admitted quietly. “I don’t want to be hurt again. Physical pain is different, you know that will heal. But anything that gets inside your head? That kind of pain is there for _life_.”

“You’re a strong man, Stiles. I’m proud of the way your mother and I raised you and I’m proud of how far you’ve come. But it’s only natural for me to worry, too. You don’t think I have sleepless nights, wondering if you’re crying yourself to sleep every night behind those soundproof doors you insisted on? Or if you’ll ever try to off yourself again? I have worries, too, son. It’s only human to question the unknown.”

“I don’t know what to do.” 

“Think about it for a while. Nothing has to change right now, you still have a week left with them. But I would tell Derek what happened. He could sense how upset you are and I had to convince him not to break your door down to check on you.”

“Thanks. I’m going to head upstairs for a while. I need to come up with a plan.”

“Of course you do,” Deucalion chuckled fondly. “I’ll tell the others you had a rough night, don’t worry about them.”

With a nod, Stiles made his way to his room, head down as he passed the playful atmosphere of his family. Marley was sleeping on the foot of the bed and Stiles pet him while scenarios played themselves out inside his mind.

So far, Derek and himself had gotten either killed, heartbroken, or married with two kids. Marley stirred besides him, digging his paws into his thigh and stretching.

 _You’re worrying too much. Derek already likes you._ Marley chastised, rubbing his head against the bed.

“Derek is leaving soon. Plus he doesn’t know what happened last night. I gave you the play by play but he has no idea.”

 _How tragic, what will you do now?_ The fox snorted. _Talk to him. Tell him what happened and that you need time, but you’re interested._

“That is… not a bad idea.” He admitted. Marley sighed, looking at him deliberately before closing his eyes. 

“Alright, Marley. This is the plan. Once I get some sleep, I’m going to talk to Derek and tell him I’m interested. He’s patient, right? It’ll work out.” Feeling better about the situation, Stiles curled himself around the fox and grinned when Marley snuggled into him.

_We don’t tell anybody about this._

Stiles chuckled. “Sure, buddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that saying about puppies destroying everything and giving their owners the gift of sleep deprivation? Yeah, not a myth. Things are picking up next chapter and it will also be longer. Thank you all for your continued support!


	18. Author's Update

Hey y'all,   
so as I'm sure you're all aware, I haven't been updating recently. I'm an ICU nurse and with the Coronavirus spreading at the rate it is, all of our hours have increased. As of now, I don't have time to continue this work. I don't feel right abandoning this story when so many people are still interested and so I've decided to hand this over to my friend/ beta reader. I gave them the outline I was working with and they've already begun to write, so the new chapter should be up relatively soon. Thank you for all the support and understanding, and stay safe!


	19. Progression

“It’s better, but you need to keep your feet firm so you have a steady foundation.” Stiles instructed, crouching so he could grasp Boyd’s leg securely. “You should be faster when you move too, because while moving the front leg helps shift your body, it doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get hit unless you have time for a solid counter.” He called Kate over, having her throw a punch at his face and moving his leg to demonstrate. “Make sense?” Boyd nodded, and with a mumbled thanks went back to spar with Isaac. 

He examined Laura and Derek as they exchanged blows and rushed to the man when he saw his mistake. Slipping behind him, he put one hand on Derek’s shoulder and yanked him backwards, catching him when he stumbled. 

“You’re too emotionally focused. Take in what the opponent is saying but don’t make connections. Filter out what’s important and what’s not.” Derek gaped at him before swallowing and nodding stiffly. He took a subtle sniff while he regained his stance and Stiles smiled to himself, scratching his arm and stepping out of the way as they began. 

“They’re looking loads better than before,” Kate greeted, throwing an arm over his shoulder and tousling his hair. “This is another success for sure.” 

“They could be better.” He told her. 

She tightened her grip, pulling on his hair with an eye roll. Scowling, he ducked away from her grasp and whistled loudly. The wolves winced, turning to him with varying degrees of annoyance and caution.

“I can tell that everyone is getting sloppy so we’ll cut it short for today, but we only have two days left so I want to make sure everybody has the major points down. Which means,” he grinned widely and stretched his arms out. “Tomorrow every single one of you will either go against Marcus or Kate.”

“What if we don’t win?” Cora demanded. 

He shrugged. “You’ll find out then. But I don’t think it will be a problem for you, it’s only two minutes that you’ll be fighting. It’s not about winning, either. We’re just seeing how many techniques you picked up while you were here.”

Scott frowned, shuffling his feet until Stiles gave him a pointed stare. “Can I sit this one out? I just don’t want to hurt anyone, y’know?”

“Nope,” he chirped. “I know for a fact that Brooke taught you some pretty useful things that don’t inflict harm, so I at least want you to demonstrate. As long as I know you can hold your weight I don’t have a problem. But I’ll explain that more tomorrow. You may not do any damage to them anyway.” 

Scott nodded glumly, perking up when Kensy called them in for lunch. Stiles shifted his weight as the bickering wolves passed him, chuckling at Cora’s affronted scoff before she chased after Laura. 

“Derek,” He called as the man strolled by, wiping his slick forehead with the back of his arm. Once he had his attention, he nodded towards the woods. “Take a walk with me?”

Derek smiled, albeit confused, and agreed enthusiastically. Stiles didn't miss the glance he threw back at the house.

“I already have food over there so you won’t starve, don’t worry.” Stiles assured as he led the way. He cursed himself, realizing his hands were cold and his stomach felt off. He compartmentalized his thoughts, only focusing on how he was going to tell Derek he wanted to go slow. He had no doubts the other man would agree, now that he thought about it more.

Once they made it to the small man made clearing, Stiles saw the minute Derek’s eyes zeroed in on the lone duffel bag. He sniffed once, twice, sending him an amused look as he headed towards it. 

“Aren’t picnics supposed to have a basket involved?” He teased, unzipping the bag and bringing out containers full of fruit, salad and a variety of sandwiches. He also made sure to place a box of curly fries inside. 

Stiles grinned back, sitting down gracelessly next to the wolf and reaching out to grab a sandwich. “We don’t have a lot of baskets at home and the ones we do have are used for storing stuff.”

Derek hummed his understanding as he picked up his own, turkey to Stiles' ham. “So what did you want to talk about?” 

“Us,” he blurted. Derek’s eyes widened for a split second, which, oddly enough, calmed him down. “I’m interested. Obviously, I mean you can probably smell it.”

“It’s been… prominent, the past couple days, yeah.” He agreed cautiously. “I was confused at first. I still am.”

Stiles took a drink from his water as he waited for the question. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what changed?” 

“I had a dream.” Derek snorted, a small smile on his face as he shook his head. Stiles waited patiently, knowing how far fetched it seemed. _He_ was still unsure it had happened, after all. The man saw his expression and instantly lost all traces of amusement.

“You’re serious?”

“Yup,” he popped the ‘p’. “It was of Mckenna. Apparently, the tree we planted had more of our magic in it than we thought we put in. She told me she was able to conserve energy from it since, technically, a piece of ourselves is in there, too. Cue in some mild panicking on my part plus a lecture on how I deserve to be happy and that’s basically how my night went.” 

“I would have expected you to avoid me for a couple more days instead of getting closer.”

Stiles scoffed at that, indignant at the thought that he runs away from things. “I do _not_ avoid things, thank you very much. I just take time to think them through.” 

Derek eyed him dubiously. “Right. So what’s the plan then.”

“I like you. A lot more than I expected, honestly. But I don’t feel comfortable jumping into a full fledged relationship right off the bat. I want to take it slow, getting to know each other on dates and going through the awkward parts of finding out what we like and all that.” Stiles told him, looking at the sandwich he was currently peeling the crust off of. He didn’t normally do that, but it gave his hands something to focus on rather than playing with his frayed jeans. 

He could feel Derek’s steady gaze on him and risked a glance up, breath nearly hitching at the genuine pleasure the wolf was showing. He swallowed. Derek’s lips twitched and the gentle smile he was sporting widened as he reached out a hand half way, eyes sparkling when Stiles slowly placed his own in the waiting palm. 

“You want me to court you? Is that what you’re asking?”

Stiles bit his lip, thinking it over. He’d witnessed Kali and Ennis’ courting since the start, when they joined the pack on his fourteenth birthday. He was lost then, annoyed that there were so many corpses lying in the backyard every day and watching in disturbed fascination when Ennis had always greeted her with a rub of his wrist on her neck. Courting was traditional and followed a routine. Stiles was spontaneous and tended to forget what he had for dinner the night prior.

“Not really,” he frowned as he tried to find a way to word his desires. “I don’t like the whole formal schedule of that. I mean, what if we want to slow it down or speed it up instead of making a decision in a month, right?”

Derek nodded his understanding, tapping his other hand on the grass as he thought. “Why don’t we plan our first date and go from there? We don’t even have to call it that, if you don’t want to.” 

Stiles shook his head. “It’s fine, we both know that’s what it is anyway.” 

“So what made you think of a picnic, anyway?” Derek asked curiously. 

Stiles slouched, hiding his embarrassment with a groan. “I was trying to be romantic.” At his muffled snort, Stiles slapped his arm and took back the sandwich in Derek’s hands, snickering at the dismayed scoff. His eyes glanced to his side, and before Stiles could issue his warning, a large hand gripped his fries and held them behind his back. 

“You-” Stiles spluttered. 

“I…” 

“You’re a menace.” He hissed, handing back the sandwich and gripping the box when Derek handed it back. He chuckled in response, leaning back on an elbow as he studied the sulking man besides him.

“What?” Stiles mumbled between bites. 

“Weren’t you going to teach me how to fight beside Orion?”

“Can’t. Not yet, anyway.” 

Derek frowned. “Why not?”

“‘Cause all of you are fighting tomorrow and it would give you an unfair advantage. As much as I want you to be successful, I don’t condemn any kind of cheating.” He eyed Derek out of the corner of his eye. “Side note for our future relationship, too.”

“As if I could even look at anyone else.” Derek chuckled at Stiles when he nearly dropped his sandwich, catching it and handing it over. Clearing his throat, Stiles gave him a grin in thanks and grabbed his hand, holding it loosely in his own as he recalled a story.

They were still holding hands as they made their way back, purposefully slower on the return trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out that our dear author had a lot of side notes that I had to clarify on. I'm sorry for the wait!


	20. Warnings Are There For a Reason

Aiden groaned as Stiles went off on another tangent, elbowing his side pointedly. “You do know this is supposed to be a test, right? Quit yapping and get to explaining the rules. You’re so annoying.” 

“That’s not what Brooke told me last night.” Stiles dodged his fist with a snicker, grinning innocently at Brooke when she sighed. He straightened up and pointed at the group in front of him. “You’ll be challenging either Marcus or Kate for two minutes. Whoever gets the most points wins. The number you get is determined by how many attacks you land on your opponent. I won’t be giving out any for mere taps and pokes, though, so where you hit and how much force you put behind it are important to keep in mind. Clear?”

Confirmations bubbled from the group and Stiles nodded. “Since Kate and Aiden decided it was a good idea to ignore protocol and decided to do the test themselves,” he levered a glare at the two in question, who met his eyes with smugness radiating off of them. “Isaac and Laura are out. Both of you pass, by the way. Congratulations, you’re officially Stilinski graduates!” 

Isaac grinned proudly and returned Laura’s fist bump, both of them making a show of sitting down and relaxing on the sidelines of the spray painted square.

“What are the rules?” Jackson asked, cracking his neck with a gleam in his eye. 

“Don’t kill and don’t hesitate. Alright, going against Marcus is Derek and Jackson. Scott, Boyd, and Cora are going against Kate. To make things go faster, We’ll be having two mock battles at once. Kate’s group on the other side of the field and Marcus’ here. Going against her will be Scott, Cora and Boyd. Jackson and Derek are with Marcus and I. Kate, you wanna start heading off with them?” 

She nodded, strolling over to her designated spot with long, confident strides. Scott and Boyd went after her right away while Cora took a minute to tie her shoes. 

“Cora, hold up a minute!” Stiles ran towards his hoodie, which he had discarded once the temperature had warmed up. Reaching into the pocket, he pulled out the dagger, rope, and brass knuckles from their first week of training. Cora stiffened at the sight of them but held her tongue, to which Stiles was vaguely surprised. “Here. You and Boyd didn’t get a chance to spar with them yet, but I added a control rune so you’ll have an easier time adjusting.”

Cora took them with a nod and was about to meet up with her group when his hand landed on her shoulder. Once she leveled him with a bemused gaze, he retreated his hand. “Kate plays dirty. Use the rope to your advantage along with the other surrounding things you find. Bring out your elementary school bully.” 

He laughed at her affronted gasp. “Isaac and Scott told me all the stories, don’t even.” He paused to give her shoulder a squeeze. “Good luck, Cora.” 

A light flush bloomed across her cheeks at his sincerity. “I don’t need luck, damn it!” 

Chuckling as she stormed ahead, Stiles tossed the knuckles to Derek and stood besides Marcus. Jackson shot a questioning look at the weapon as Derek hesitantly slid it on his hand, shaking it and testing its weight. 

“Like I said before, you get two minutes each. As long as you get at least ten hits on him within the first half I’ll be fine. Good?”

Marcus rolled his shoulders at their nods, stepping into the square. “If we could finish this quickly, I have a book to finish reading.”

“It’s four minutes. I think you’ll last.” Stiles teased. Something about the fights always got to him, made his spark come alive and Marley purr deep in excited satisfaction as he watched how his help aided others. “Jackson, you’re up.”

“Hn.” Jackson licked his lips with a smirk, giving the man in front of him a mock bow. Marcus rolled his eyes, chastising himself for agreeing to help out this year. He had enough bratty adults to deal with as it was.

“Go!” Stiles barked. 

Immediately, Jackson dodged the man’s kick as he tried to sweep his feet from underneath him. He shed his shirt quickly and focused on what Ellen had told him to. He could feel his skin hardening, his wolf and the leftovers from the kanima well practiced by now to come to an agreement. 

_”In this form, you’ll have the strength and hearing of a wolf and the agility and venom from the kanima. Make sure you’re confident in your skills before you release it. It’ll take your opponent by surprise for a second. That’s your chance.”_

Marcus jumped over the tail aimed for his ankle, digging his claws into the beta’s shoulder and aiming them upwards as he forcefully turned him around, the resounding sound of skin tearing making Thomas grin from where he was watching inside, nudging Ellen's shoulder.

Jackson snarled at the man, glaring as he rolled his shoulder. Crouching, he studied Marcus before running towards him, launching himself over his head at the last minute and curving his tail to aim at the side of his neck. 

Marcus caught it half an inch away, squeezing it tightly and throwing it in front of him. Jackson dug his claws into the grass to slow himself down, twisting away from the barrage of punches aimed at him. 

He tilted his head back and roared, startling Jackson enough to burrow his knee below the beta’s ribs and throw him into a tree. Not giving him a chance to recover, he quickly straddled his waist and pinned his wrists. 

The timer on Stiles’ phone buzzed and Marcus relaxed his hold. 

“Congratulations, Jackson! You win!” 

Marcus nearly broke his neck turning to his emissary so fast. “What do you mean he won? Do you not see who’s on the bottom?”

“Technically, it would be you.” Stiles pointed above him with a gleeful twinkle in his eye. Marcus saw the tip of a reptilian tail and sighed. “He could have gotten you with that so many times, dude! You gotta brush up on your footwork!”

“I knew I hated kanima’s for a reason.” After giving Jackson a nod of acknowledgement, he brushed off some of the stray twigs and leaves on his shoulders and stepped back into the rink, waiting for his next challenger.

Derek eyed the brass on his hand wearily, all too aware of what happened last time.

“Derek, chop chop!” Stiles demanded with a smirk. Snapping his jaws playfully at his mate, he shook himself off and stepped in front of the older man. 

Marcus gave him a once over, considering his overall frame. He was sure to be powerful with the strengthening Stiles focused on, and he was sure the beta would be better at his footwork, too, with the swimming and agility challenges.

“Okay, start!” Stiles shouted with a manic grin. Thomas came up beside him, offering some of the chocolate he was eating as he watched on.

“Hey, what if your mate is a total loser? Like what if Marcus absolutely destroys him?”

“He won’t,” Stiles responded confidently, watching as they circled one another before Marcus launched himself at Derek. “I trained him, remember? And he’s not as good as he could be, but I’m sure he’ll think of something.”

They watched as Marcus whispered something into Derek’s ear, the beta snarling and throwing the man off of himself before following and delivering a strong knee into Marcus’ chest.

Thomas whistled lowly, snapping off a piece of his chocolate bar and popping it into his mouth.

“Why are you even here?” Stiles asked, wincing when Marcus jerked his elbow into Derek’s windpipe.

“The old man’s worried ‘bout you. Said to tell you that you’re overdoing it and he’ll have Patrick come and knock some sense into you if you don’t take a break tonight.”

He crossed his arms and sighed. “I know what I can take and what I can’t. I’m fine. And I thought you all wanted me bonding with Marley again, what happened to that?”

“Stiles, you nearly passed out during dinner last night. Anya had to shove your head off of her arm before you woke up.”

“I was tired,” Stiles dismissed. “It’s normal.”

Derek had punched Marcus in his back, right above his kidneys, and the smell of burning flesh reached the two. 

“That’s disgusting,” Thomas told him nonchalantly. 

“It’s useful.” Stiles smirked. 

Marcus gripped Derek’s wrist and tossed him over his shoulder, breaking his fingers before removing the weapon and throwing it aside. 

“Ah, damn. It would’ve been fun to watch that for a little longer. How come Marcus ruins everything?” 

Said man glared at Thomas while he dodged a punch, huffing in irritation and kicking Derek’s feet out from under him. Derek was back up in a second, his claws ripping into Marcus’ shins and coming uncomfortably close to tearing his hamstrings before pulling them back out and blocking a punch.

Marcus lunged at the younger man, his claws anchoring themselves into Derek’s shoulders as he shoved him down. Snarling, he gripped the beta’s hair and forced his head back, his fangs about to touch the skin before the phone buzzed, signaling the end of the match.

Marcus stood up gracefully, nodding his head at Derek as he took the offered hand. “You aren’t as bad as I was expecting. Once you improve your temper, I think you’ll be in good shape. I take back what I said.”

Stiles grinned, patting Derek on the back and leaning over his shoulder to wink at Marcus. “Was that a compliment I heard? Damn, maybe I should have you help me out more often!”

He didn’t bother with a response, giving a deep sigh and heading towards Kate. Once he got to her, he gripped her hand and began tugging her to the house. She waved to Aiden, who rolled his eyes and began congratulating the group.

“So, congratulations on winning. But he was right that you lost your temper, what was that about anyway?”

Derek shifted uncomfortably, mumbling something before shaking his head. “You have a very protective pack.”

Stiles snorted. “Trust me, I know. But he had to have said _something_.”

Derek nudged him fondly. “He just gave me a shovel talk. Of sorts.”

“And that got your temper up?” Stile eyed him dubiously. 

“He may have hinted that there was someone else who could take my place.”

“Eh? Who’s that?” 

“He didn’t give me a name, just that you’re pretty close with them.”

Stiles thought about it, but nobody came to mind. Anybody worth mentioning, anyway. 

“Hey, why can’t you hear from long distances like we can? You’re part fox, right? You’d think that your senses would be as good as mine, if not better.”

“I haven’t been in contact with Marley for years. It’s a miracle I still have his reflexes, let alone the enhancements.”

“You guys are really that detached?” Derek sounded shocked, as if he couldn’t imagine not being in contact with his wolf. Stiles shrugged, stepping inside and collapsing onto the couch. 

“I wouldn’t say detached, we’re just not on the same page right now. We’re getting closer though, so I’m not worried.”

“Still, that can’t be healthy.” Derek crossed his arms, running his gaze along the length of the younger man and looking for signs of any discomfort. 

“Stiles is as stubborn as they come,” Austin pitched in from the kitchen. “One time we found him with a rod sticking out of his leg and all he did was take it out, wrap it with disinfectant bandages and passed out on the floor. He put up a barrier around him, saying that he was fine and he didn't want anyone to wake him up. His dad nearly blew a fuse!” He laughed.

“That was one time, and it wasn’t a _rod_ , it was a small pipe.”

“It was a rod, dude. Trust me, I won’t forget that for the rest of my life.” Austin argued, going over to the couch and making himself comfortable by the brunette. “By the way, are you ready for tonight? Deuc said that we would be going further out tonight to celebrate.”

“Of course I am. I’m winning this time, too.”

“Winning what?” Derek inquired. Aiden walked inside, the rest of the Hales following him with grins and a satisfied air around them.

“The pack run. It’s a good way to let loose after all the training we put you through and it lets us get rid of extra energy, too.” Stiles elaborated. He ran his hand through his hair and frowned when he felt the snags.

“Aiden was just telling us about it,” Cora said excitedly. “We’re going to shift and play all kinds of games. Last year he said they played hide and seek and Charles nearly killed Dallas!”

Stiles couldn't help the amused snort that escaped him and Anya and Kensy's laughter echoed from the second floor.

“Don’t be spreading rumors, now.” Deucalion chuckled from the recliner. “It was a mere neck fracture and pierced lung. She was fine after a couple days.”

“What happened?” Boyd asked, accepting a water bottle from Brooke

“Stiles thought it would be a good idea for Brooke to shift into a deer to be their team look out, and Charles just happened to think it was a good night for some venison.”

“It was a good idea!” Stiles protested, lips quirking at the sound of joyful laughter.

Derek sat besides him, watching his reactions closely as he allowed their thighs to lean against one another. Stiles pushed him playfully but otherwise continued his conversation, bickering with the Hales like it was all he was worth. Derek relaxed, content to listen to the ongoing debate. Things were going good with Stiles -great, actually- and with the way they were progressing he really had nothing to complain about. 

The way Stiles leaned into his side as he laughed just confirmed his thoughts.

Laura panted as she dodged a log thrown at her, laughing carelessly as she watched Cora get tagged by Ellen. 

“That’s a cheap shot! You can’t use your tail!” She yelled, glaring at Jason while he leaned her against a neighboring tree. 

“That’s like saying you guys can’t use your speed and noses!” Ellen argued. She had already tagged almost half of the participants, including Kate, Ethan, Anya and Boyd. There were still a lot of people left, and she wasn’t planning on losing.

Howls broke out behind her and she faced the other direction, giving Laura a warning look as she wrapped her tail around a branch and began scaling the tree.

Laura chuckled, the high of chasing and being chased exciting her beyond words. Hearing a short growl to her left, she turned and began to run. She was trying to win, after all. She glanced around, wondering how her brother was holding up. Knowing him, he probably got himself tagged just to ask if anyone’s seen Stiles.

As it was, she couldn’t be further off if she had tried.

Derek groaned as Stiles stared at him, a mix of incredulousness and confusion dancing across his fine features. 

“I… don’t know what to say.” He finally mumbled. He squinted at the older man, pointing an accusing finger as he leaned against a tree. “Are you sure you’re picturing it?”

“Yes, Stiles, I’m sure.” He grunted back. Sweat was starting to pool around his eyebrows and he wiped it away halfheartedly.

“I mean, I can show you again if you think it’ll help.” Stiles suggested. At his mate’s nod, he closed his eyes and pictured Marley manifesting by his side. As soon as he felt the nudge against his leg he opened them.

“Just picture Orion and think of how awesome it’ll be when you guys can fight by each other.” 

Derek sighed deeply. He pictured the wolf: the way his ears perked up at the slightest whisper of a noise, the large, blue eyes that caught every movement no matter how discrete. 

Thick, coarse fur brushed against his wrist and he grinned to himself, proud to have accomplished the task after nearly an hour. Kneeling, he grabbed Orion’s face and rubbed circles beneath his eyes, his excitement mirrored in the gleaming eyes.

“About time!” Stiles cheered. He headed towards Derek, allowing the wolf to sniff and lick his palm as he passed it. “Alright, you’re probably tired so we’ll just go through a couple formations I like today.”

Derek nodded, face growing serious as he listened. 

“We’ll do two today. Offense and Defense.” He whistled once, a high, sharp sound that had Derek and his wolf wincing. Marley ran up to him within three seconds, he was wrapped around the side of Stiles’ leg and he held his body low to the ground, his snout was curled back revealing his canines and he was ready to pounce. 

“This is the offensive, obviously. The high pitched whistle takes the opponent by surprise for a second or two, and even if it doesn’t they’ll still be off their game for a second.”

“And then you attack.”

Stiles shrugged. “Marley or myself, yeah. Sometimes one of us will stay behind to keep track of our surroundings.”

“How do you decide?” Derek asked, admiring the picture his mate and his partner made.

“It depends on who we’re facing. If it’s diplomatic, he’ll usually stay behind. If it’s an all out brawl, we’ll take turns to check what’s going on. By that time, though, we’ll usually have back up.”

“You’ve been in brawls?” He choked out, imagining Stiles on a warpath. It excited him more than he cared to admit, and he pictured his sister and her husband to get rid of the feeling.

Stiles stared at him flatly when he shuddered. “Derek, I met my first mate when I was eighteen and we were up against rogues. Yes, I have a couple scars.” He grinned to himself as he saw Derek’s eyes run over his frame, decidedly ignoring how… hungry the other man looked.

“I’ll show you some other time. For now, try the offensive stance I just showed you.”

With a short nod, Derek cracked his neck and whistled as high as he could. Orion caught on fast and jogged to his side, trying to mimic what he saw Marley do.

Derek raised a questioning brow.

“Were you not paying attention?” He glared. Derek blinked while Orion cocked his head. 

“You’re back is wide open, you’re footing is all wrong, Orion is only protecting half of one leg, and your arms look useless when you just dangle them like that.”

Another blink. “What? I’m doing just what you told me to do!”

“Here, let me show you.” Stiles corrected his stance, kicking his legs further apart and dismissing the shiver that passed through him when he felt eyes boring into him. 

He gently arranged the wolf so that the bulk of his body covered Derek’s left side, ensuring that his head was low enough so his neck wasn’t bared. After a second glance to make sure the wolves' legs were covering Derek's heels, he nodded.

“That should do it. How does it feel?”

“Weird. But also.... I don’t know, nice? Comforting?”

Stiles hummed his understanding. “Good. Alright, the next one is a lot simpler.” Demonstrating and fixing the stance didn’t take as long as it had for the other one, since this position just had them back to back and ready to protect one another. He let some of his touches linger, licking his lips when he traced over the hard muscles before he shook himself out of it.

“You want to practice a bit? I can spar with you a little, let you get used to how it feels with your wolf by you.”

Derek agreed readily, bending his knees and planting his feet like Stiles showed him. The first attack was a punch and a low kick. Derek was able to duck and jab him in the abdomen while Orion stopped his leg, holding it gently in his mouth until Stiles pulled it back out.

“That was good. Try to be more synchronized and a little faster this time.” 

After the pair had gotten comfortable with deflecting Stiles’ blows, Derek thought of an idea. With a small smirk, he waited until Stiles closed in on him before putting his hands on the slim waist and tackling him to the floor. 

Stiles stared wide eyed at the smug beta on top of him. _Oh,_ he thought. _Holy shit, I have the sexiest man alive on top of me! Wait, no, he’s just attractive and-_

“Stiles? Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” Derek asked, concern flickering across his face.

Shaking his head, Stiles laughed, albeit forced. “No, no. I’m fine, really.”

“Okay.” Derek stared down at him, mesmerized at the whiskey eyes that seemed to have flecks of amber and gold swimming throughout them. His eyes fell lower, across the slightly upturned nose and the subtle freckles around it before he was drawn to his lips. The cupid bow seemed to be calling to him, asking him to trace his tongue over it before taking the other man in his arms and cradling his head in his so he could-

Stiles coughed, a light blush covering his face and his eyes slightly dilated. “Um, could you uh, let me up? Please?”

A second passed as Derek registered the request. He was off of him in a blink of an eye, apology on his lips.

“It’s fine!” Stiles interrupted. “I was just shocked, that’s all. You’re quicker on your feet, that’s really good.” Gathering himself up on his knees, Stiles ran his hands through the fur on Marley and timed his breathing with the fox.

 _You’re aroused._ The fox told him smugly. _Why don’t you just kiss him? You and I both saw the way he was staring at you._

Derek watched, bewildered at the way Stiles began spluttering. When he caught the other man’s scent, though, he couldn’t help but feel pleased. Stiles stood up, glaring at the fox and pointedly brushing off the suggestive thoughts being implanted into his mind

Derek grinned, ready to tease his mate when he saw the other stumble while trying to stand up. “Stiles!”

Brown eyes flashed to his and he was instantly on his feet, Orion on his heels. Marley was leaning his body against the back of his legs, trying to help his partner so he didn’t fall backwards. The fox craned his head back and licked the wolf’s shoulder in thanks when he came to help support the top half of Stiles’ legs. 

Blinking when heavy hands landed on his shoulders, Stiles tried to contain his panic. Marley wasn’t exactly helping, what with his scolding comments that were practically yelled into his mind.

“Heh, don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Anyway, that was great! What do you say about heading back? I’m pretty tired… and hungry, now that I think about it.” Stiles painted a smile on his face, patting Marley’s head as he shrugged out of the other man's hold and began walking towards the house. 

As they got nearer to the boisterous laughter and teasing from their two packs, Derek noticed how Marley began pushing at Stiles’ back more insistently and frowned. Orion nudged his hand and they shared a look of worry before following after the pair.

Deucalion was the one who noticed them first. He was fully shifted, as was every other wolf in Stiles’ pack, and his large, tawny head snapped to attention. With a low growl he headed towards them, transforming back to his human self along the way. 

Ellen made a noise of disgust and buried her face into her husband's neck. Jason chuckled, picking up a pair of sweatpants they had lying around and tossed it to his alpha. Deucalion caught them, putting them on as he stopped in front of his son.

“What did we tell you about taking it easy?” He growled, half worried and half frustrated. He put his hands on Stiles’ shoulders, keeping him steady when he toppled over. Marley was right by his side, glaring up at his partner. 

“It was just a little practice, I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t do much, honestly!” He protested weakly. His vision began to get blurry and he blinked it away. He could hear the Hale's mumbling to themselves and wished he could be somewhere more private. Like his bed. Preferably under his blankets and sleeping.

“How long have you had Marley out, Stiles?” His dad asked gruffly. 

“I don’t know, a couple hours every day?” Derek watched silently as the alpha closed his eyes and took a measured breath. Laura nudged him, the question clear in her eyes and he shook his head minutely. 

“How long will it take this time around?” Marcus asked sternly, laying his hand on his alpha’s shoulder. Kate was tucked under his arm, leaning against him comfortably although she eyed Stiles’ slumped body grimly.

“Two days. At the very least.” 

Deucalion sighed deeply as he ran his hand over the back of his son's neck. “Okay. Thomas, can you get his bed ready? Brooke, you’re in charge of the runes until he wakes up. Aiden, start bringing him upstairs, please.”

With a curt nod, Aiden kicked Stiles’ legs out from under him and took over his weight. 

“What do you mean until he wakes up? What’s wrong with him?” Derek asked hurriedly, jogging to catch up with the beta.

Kali held the door open for them, her other hand on her stomach. Ennis was slightly in front of her, his crossed arms and glare warning Derek not to come too close. Not that Derek had the slightest interest in the pregnant woman.

“Magical exhaustion. It happens sometimes, no biggie.” Stiles answered, his voice muffled in his friend’s cut off. Opening an eye, he gave Derek a drained smile. He waved a hand lazily at the way his eyes narrowed further, cutting off his next comment. “I’mma sleep now, ‘kay?”

He was out before Aiden got them to the staircase, Derek's glare the last thing he saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I'm so so so sorry for the late update! I was really busy with college finals, but I just finished so chapters will be coming regularly now! I'm not sure what the schedule will be yet, but there will be an update at least once a week. Also, I'm not as good at writing fight scenes as the original author is, so bear with me please!


	21. This Isn't Considered as a Date, Stiles

Talia sighed as she heard yet another thump and the sound of glass breaking. Peter smirked from where he was reading Chris’ latest bestiary, updated from last summer when they had the pixie mishap.

“You always complained the house was too empty, dear sister." He stated sarcastically. "If you listened to me before you took in the newbies, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“Peter, the first time you saw Jackson, you told him his car was a mess and took him to the dealer to fix it. I don’t want to hear anything from you.”

She smirked at his excuses, heading towards the living room to find out what was broken this time. The scene that greeted her was… not what she expected. Erica and Lydia were glaring at each other, each had both hands on the phone and were trying to tug it towards themselves. Danny and Jordan stood in the sidelines, stepping forwards and then back again when the girls focused their looks on them. 

“I want to talk to Boyd! I haven’t been with him for three weeks, do you know how stressful that is for werewolves? Very.” Erica growled. 

Lydia rolled her eyes, strengthening her grip on the phone. “Jackson has both a wolf and the remains of the kanima. How do you think he is? If anything, he has the worst of it. Now hand it over, I won’t ask again.” 

Danny gave up, sitting down next to Beatrice with a heavy sigh. She patted his arm absentmindedly, murmuring the answers to the game show that was playing. 

Talia cleared her throat, raising her eyebrow when the girls looked at her. “Who’s on the phone?”

“Derek,” Erica replied. “And he won’t put Boyd on!”

“You talked to him a couple minutes ago, dear.” Beatrice reminded with a low chuckle. The blonde groaned, mumbling about how it wasn’t enough while handing the phone to Lydia. 

She took it with a nod of thanks, bringing it up to her ear before Talia could ask for it. “Derek, tell Jackson to call me in five minutes and that I’ll be expecting his call. Here’s your mom.”

Talia smiled as she heard her son’s voice, relief flooding through her. 

“Hey, mom.” He greeted. 

“Derek. I know that you’re not one for phone calls, but a reminder of your well being would be nice once in a while.”

“Sorry?”

She hummed her amusement. “Yes, well. I can’t say that I’m surprised. You do take after your father, after all. How’s Stiles doing? Is everything going smoothly?” 

Derek went quiet and she could dully hear the low mumbles of a conversation. 

“Derek?”

“Uh, I was actually wondering if Deaton was there? I have a couple questions for him.”

She exchanged a glance with her brother, eyebrows drawn together. “No, he’s out of town getting more supplies. What’s the matter?”

“It’s Stiles. He overworked himself and he’s been sleeping for five days now and I’m worried. I was wondering if Deaton had anything to help him.”

“Is that why the barbecue was delayed? We got the message from Deucalion that it was postponed.”

“Mom, Deaton?” Derek huffed.

“Like I said, he’s out of town. Doesn’t Stiles have his own medical supply?”

“Yeah, but-”

“Derek, I understand why you’re worried, but don’t you think his pack knows how to take care of him? Surely this isn’t the first time he’s overdone it if they aren’t too concerned. What did his father say?” She asked him soothingly. 

“He said not to worry about it.” He sighed. 

“So don’t. I know it’s hard, but I’m sure you have a lot of distractions there with you. Tell me about your stay. How was the training? And their pack, are they nice to you?”

“Yes, mom. Everything’s fine. The training was hard but it helped us all and their pack is very… friendly.”

“You hesitated.” She noted.

“How’re things over there? I know Erica’s blowing up Boyd’s phone every hour.”

She decided to be the bigger person and not call out her son’s attempt at a subtle topic change. “Everything’s good over here. There’s half of the pack missing and yet the house is somehow more rowdy than usual.” She chuckled at the grumbles in the other room, sitting down in the kitchen beside her brother. There was a series of yells and laughter over the line and she heard Derek call a warning. Before she could ask what was going on, there was a loud laugh and static overtook her phone speaker. 

“Hey, Alpha Hale! Sorry to cut this short, but Derek’s late for dinner and it's almost gone and Stiles will kick my ass if he finds out his other half didn’t eat!”

“Thomas, leave my mother alone!” Derek yelled.

Talia couldn’t help but chuckle, recognizing the amusement under her son’s tone. “Yes, I understand. Have a good night, Thomas.”

“That pack sure is… energized.” Peter frowned once she hung up. 

“I think it sounds fun,” Erica said through a mouthful of chips. “Boyd’s been telling me about all the stuff they do there. When the full moon was out they played a bunch of games in the forest and had like this whole tag thing going on, but he said that one of their members paralyzed him and he lost by default.”

“Paralyzed?” Peter questioned incredulously. 

“Yeah, remember they have a kanima?”

“And hunters say that _our_ pack is a threat.” He grumbled.

Beatrice chuckled at the scoff on her husband’s face. Erica and Lydia argued over what movie to play beside her and she leaned back on the couch, her family surrounding her. She was happy for her nephew, for all of the broodiness and gruffness he liked to show, he was a sensitive man who needed to come out of his shell. Based on what she had seen and heard of Stiles, he was the perfect fit for him. She just hoped Talia was preparing for the question Derek would undoubtedly ask when he came back.

Stiles woke up abruptly, sitting up to take in his surroundings before falling back and covering himself with the blankets. Not even three seconds later, Aiden showed up with Derek and Brooke on his heels. 

“Leave,” He mumbled into the comforter. “I’m still recovering.”

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Aiden warned. Derek sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out his hand towards Stiles before pulling it back and clenching it into a fist.

Stiles paused, thinking it over as he gripped the beta’s hand in his own and squeezed it reassuringly. “Does the easy way involve food?”

Rolling her eyes, Brooke nodded. “As always. Austin and Jason made dinner a while ago but they saved you a plate. Which will never happen again, by the way. This was your freebie.”

“Sure,” He yawned. He noted the stiffness in Derek’s back and sighed, already feeling the oncoming lecture. “I’ll meet you guys downstairs, I gotta talk to Derek.”

“Fine, but take this before you come down.” Tossing the small pill at him, Austin shoved Brooke through the door and closed it with a soft click. Stiles swallowed the magic stabilizer with a grimace before returning his focus onto the wolf.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were overworked?” Derek asked after a moment. 

“I thought I could handle more. I usually _do_ handle more than that. I… feel bad. About keeping Marley cooped up for that long.” He admitted with a shrug. 

“And what do you think will happen if you keep straining yourself? You think Marley will be able to come out when you’re almost comatose?” 

Stiles opened his mouth, argument ready on his lips when the man pulled him into a rough hug, albeit awkward since they haven’t done that before. He returned the hug slowly, crossing his arms behind the older man’s neck and tightening his hold. As Derek breathed in his scent and calmed himself, Stiles found himself playing with the hair that brushed against his hands. It was softer than he thought it would be, he noted, but had a thickness to it that he enjoyed intertwining his fingers with. He was mindlessly tracing figure eights through the strands when Derek gently pushed him away. 

“Stiles?”

“What’s up, big guy?”

“Don’t do that again.”

Smiling at the demanding tone, he tugged on his hair before standing up and stretching. “Okay.”

Something was off with her. He’d noticed it right away when he’d come down and only solidified his theory in the time he finished eating. The slouched shoulders and smile that didn’t reach her usual mischievous eyes was as obvious as it could get. After getting yelled at by the majority of his pack and laughed at by Thomas and Marcus, Stiles had slumped into the couch and leaned on Derek while they scrolled through the channel guide.

He’d caught Marcus’ eye halfway through Wolverine and based on the furrowed eyebrows and frown, he didn’t know what was going on either. Stiles had enough when her phone buzzed and the frown that decorated her face after looking at it.

“Kate, I wanna show you something quick.” He didn’t wait for her to reply and led the way to the front yard where there was a porch swing. She sat down besides him a few seconds later and rolled her eyes at the look on his face.

“It’s nothing serious, Stiles. I just don’t know what to do about something.”

“Hm, you know what would help? Talking to me. You know, the emissary of this pack and the person who saved your life.” 

She considered him. “Fine, but you can’t rush into anything.”

“When do I ever-”

“Shut up and listen.” 

He mimed zipping his lips and leaned back, waiting for her to start.

“Remember Chris and Allison?”

“The brother who betrayed you and his daughter who was ready to kill you? Yeah, I’m familiar.” He remarked dryly.

“Chris called a couple hours ago, said that he wanted to meet up and talk. Apologize properly and get to know each other again.”

“Hard pass. I veto the bill. Do not proceed.”

“I said yeah.”

He shot up, pointing a finger at her with an unbelieving groan. “What the hell, Kate! I thought I was the one with the bad self preservation instincts!”

“You didn’t hear me out!” She interrupted as she slapped the finger away. “I’m not going anywhere, I told him that it would be on my terms.”

“Damn right,” Stiles muttered. 

“You know this isn’t easy for me either, Stiles. Do you know how it feels when your family is in the pack of your best friend’s mate? Knowing that they're watching you every minute when you’re in the same room with them?”

Stiles eyed her gravely. “No, I don’t.”

“Well, it sucks. They’re the only family I have left and despite everything that happened, I still want to try. And that’s why we’ll talk at the barbecue, which is tomorrow, by the way. Marcus called Talia to tell her and they’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.” She poked him in the shoulder with an arched eyebrow and Stiles relaxed. 

“Okay, first of all, don’t think that subject change will work on me. Secondly, you better bring Marcus and Aiden with you. At least.”

“Sure, Stiles. ‘Cause you know, they’re just going to attack me in the middle of our territory.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them.” He grumbled. “Why didn’t you tell Marcus? He’s been worried too.”

“Why would I interrupt sex to tell him about my mishaps?” Laughing at his grimace, she ruffled his hair and led him back inside by the shoulders.

Marcus nodded to him as they joined the others. Instead of sitting down, Stiles grabbed Derek’s hand and tugged him until he was standing. Catching the hint, the wolf grabbed his jacket from where it was hanging over the couch and followed him to the door.

“Where are we going?” He asked once he was in the jeep.

Pulling out of the driveway, Stiles grinned at him. “Our first date, of course!”

Derek stared at the packages before him, studying the various brands. “Are you sure you want this one?”

Stiles peeked over his shoulder at the four pack of hamburger patties and hummed. “I think it’s fine. It’s up to you, though. Like you said on the way here, you’ll probably be helping out with the grill anyway.”

Putting ten more packages in the cart and ignoring the nosy bystanders, he nudged Stiles forward. “When you said the first date, this isn’t really what I had in mind.”

“Are you complaining? And go into this aisle, we need condiments.”

“I wouldn’t call it complaining. I just wouldn’t put grocery shopping on the list of top ten date ideas. Or the top hundred.”

Tossing a few ketchup and mustard bottles into the cart, Stiles grinned cheekily. “If you have that many ideas, you can take the reins. Because honestly, this and a movie night is all I got. Maybe we can add a couple pints of Ben and Jerry’s.”

Derek smiled and shook his head fondly, chuckling when the other man ran off to grab a bag of chocolates near the register. Once he caught up with him, Stiles had his arms full with nearly every candy bar the shelves had stocked. 

“What? Don’t look at me like that, chocolate is the hidden treasure of this world and it doesn’t get nearly enough love as it deserves.”

“And that’s where you come in?”

“But of course!”

“Right, how could I think otherwise.” He told him wryly. Stiles continued to tell him the wonders dark chocolate did for the skin. and while Derek knew for a fact half of those things weren’t even close to being true, he liked the soft baritone of the other’s voice and the way his arms went everywhere when he argued his point. At one point while he was lifting the water bottles from the moving belt, he noticed that Stiles had stopped mid sentence. Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, he saw his eyes trained onto his arms and run down his chest and stomach, watching his muscles contract with a slight haze. 

Smirking to himself while he handed the money over, he snapped his fingers in front of him and made sure to add extra punctuation by stretching slightly so his shirt lifted at the bottom an inch or two.

“Wha- Oh, yeah. Right.” With a flush riding high across his cheeks, Stiles took half of the bags and made his way towards the jeep, purposefully ignoring the smugness that surrounded the wolf. And, really, it wasn’t his fault. Anyone would lose their train of thought when a perfectly attractive man flexed in front of you, even if it was unintentionally. He left Derek to put the bags in the back and hit his head against the steering wheel, groaning lowly when his mind kept replaying how his shirt had ridden up _just enough_ to give him a peek at the dark trail leading down from his navel. 

“Snap out of it, Stiles. You’re better than this.” He hissed as Derek opened the trunk. Scoffing at the snicker behind him, he turned the radio on and leaned back with a pout and crossed arms. He would get him back. It would be better, actually, because he would get his revenge in front of both of their families. 

As his plan came together, he smirked. Derek didn’t know what he had coming.


	22. It Was The Outfit, Obviously

Stiles was… concerned. All of the immaculate details he had spent hours polishing were going downhill. Fast. And in flames. He ran his hand through his hair, groaning when his so called _helpers_ spoke over him.

“Guys!” Stiles yelled. Half of the store turned to look at him and he shot them a look that had them feigning innocence in seconds. Crossing his arms, he stared down Laura, Kate and Brooke. “You’re supposed to help me, not shop for yourselves!”

Pulling out a shirt and hanging it over her arm, Kate clicked her tongue. “You invited us, sweetie. You should’ve seen this coming.”

“That’s why I didn’t invite Kensy and Caitlynn!” He whined. “Now help me find a cool outfit!”

Brooke rolled her eyes and looped arms with him, dragging him further into the shop until they reached the Calvin Klein section. 

“Laura!” She called. “What’s Derek’s favorite color?”

“Usually or on Stiles?”

“What do you think?”

Laura hummed and joined them, looking over the racks. Just when Stiles was going to give up and grab the closest one, she reached out and snagged a crimson shit with four black buttons on the top and two on the arms so it could fold up. 

“Wear this and some dark jeans, he’ll love it.”

“Honestly, this is extra, Stiles. Even for you.”

“Extra!” He echoed in an appalled tone. Laura stepped in and before he could truly defend himself, she patted his cheek and chuckled as he waved her off. She wasn’t phased, tossing an arm around his shoulders instead.

“Personally, I think it’s adorable. Stiles, the jaded man that my brother’s pining for, finally gets over himself and decides to drag three girls with him to help him choose a suitable outfit. Ah, romance.”

Stiles shot her a dirty look and shrugged her off. “I’m not _jaded_ , Laura, Jesus. Everything makes sense now and Derek was right about everything he said about you.” Taking the shirt and snatching a black, ripped pair of jeans along the way, hopefully in his size, he paid for them and walked out, ignoring Laura’s calls of ‘What did he say about me? Stiles? Stiles!’ as he left.

Isaac would never admit it, but he had warmed up to Stiles’ pack, their eccentricity and sadism included. When they had first pulled up to the house, his hands had been shaking and not even Cora could calm him down. It only got worse once Kate had taken away one of his senses, arguably his most needed, like it was nothing. And, seriously, why would anybody even have stuff that could do that just lying around?

But as the weeks had gone by, he found himself opening up in ways that he never thought he could with another pack. Thomas and Kensy had shared his sense of humor and they had exchanged numbers just to send each other dry humored memes throughout the night, some of which had Isaac laughing into his pillow until he cried, much to the annoyance of his girlfriend. He winced thinking back to the way Cora had growled at him. Small as she was, she could be terrifying. 

Stiles had spent time with him too, forcing him to watch all of the Star Wars movies when he heard Isaac hadn’t seen any of them. Austin had joined them soon after, and before he knew it all three of them were sharing commentary and short debates as the hours passed. It was… nice, having friends that were outside of his pack. And the more time he spent with Stiles, the more he realized why Derek had fallen so hard.

Despite his bluntness and the many, _many_ tangents he tended to go off on, he was fiercely protective and loyal, and didn’t hesitate to help out when he saw an inch of discomfort on any of their faces. He had seen Boyd struggling to work the oven one night after the beta had asked to bake, and had stepped in to help within a minute. As he showed him how the knobs and dials operated, he never once lost the severity in which he argued the cons of GMOs with Marcus.

All of that aside, he was ecstatic to see his alpha and the rest of his pack again. It had been a great experience with this pack and he was grateful for everything they had taught him, but he was ready to go home and sleep in his own bed. And no matter what Cora said, he was _not_ the first one at the door to greet Talia. That was Deucalion, who stared at the Argent's a minute too long before inviting them in.

Talia accepted his hug easily and he sighed contently as she ran her hand through his hair and behind his neck. “I missed you too, dear. Did you have fun?”

He nodded and just as he opened his mouth to describe the training he went through, Thomas slung his arm over his shoulder and held out his hand with a grin. Talia raised her eyebrow at the casual touching, knowing that Isaac was one who rarely liked being touched, especially from people outside of the pack.

“Hiya, The name’s Thomas, it’s a pleasure.” He didn’t wait for her to offer her hand, instead reaching out and embracing it in his own before letting it drop and moving onto Erica. 

“Hey, I don’t know if you heard, but I’m-”

“Taken,” She smirked. Thomas blinked before letting out a loud guffaw. Deucalion sighed his exasperation and called for Dallas, who popped up from behind Danny and Lydia, eliciting a small jump, and gripped her mate’s ear, dragging him off with a mumbled apology their way.

“I see you got some new friends.” Lydia scoffed, scanning the room for Jackson.

“I was forced into it, really. Everyone is outside in the back, Stiles and Kate are trying to hook up the radio but Brooke accidentally threw it earlier so it’s probably broken.”

Peter looked at Talia imploringly, glancing back at his car longingly when she shook her head, humor rolling off of her in waves.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Lydia stepped forwards, avoiding a discarded t-shirt from the night before with a grimace. Beatrice nudged her husband with a soft smile and tilt of her head, chuckling when Peter groaned and took her arm, leading her out behind the banshee.

“After you,” Deucalion offered. “I’m sure you’d like to know how traumatized your pack is after residing here for three weeks.”

Talia laughed lightly, following him outside to the backyard. “And my beta’s didn’t help anything, I imagine.” 

“On the contrary, I’d have to say that they livened things up. This year's pack run was more fun than any of us expected. No offence.” He added as a second thought. 

She waved her hand, examining the way they had arranged the yard. There were chairs set up in a circle on the patio with a large fire pit in the middle of it, along with the supplies for s'mores. There were people already occupying half of them and she cast a bemused stare at a man who was lying under a tree, reading a book. A couple yards to the left of that there was a volleyball net set up, where Aiden and Ethan were playing a match against a couple that she vaguely recalled seeing but couldn’t remember their names. 

Loud laughter brought her attention to the grilling area, where Derek, Boyd, another man and a woman were. The man was holding his sides as he laughed, and she noted how the girl growled and stalked off, heading towards the circle of chairs. The man went after her with an apology which was interrupted by cackles. 

Deucalion chuckled beside her and together they moved to a couple empty chairs, where Thomas was sitting with the girl who manhandled him out. 

“Hey, Alpha Hale.” The girl nudged his arm pointedly and he made a show of sighing before grinning back at her. “I’m sorry about before, I was just excited to meet you! Isaac’s told me a bunch about your pack and it’s just so-”

“Hello, Alpha Hale. My name’s Dallas and this idiot is my husband.”

“Hey now-” He faltered at her look, his hand paused in the air before he slowly wrapped it behind her shoulders so it rested on her chair, fingers brushing her arm. “Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look in the sun? Magnificent, truly.”

Talia couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her, sitting in the next chair over and smiling at Dallas. Conversation between them sparked easily, and soon enough she was reintroduced to the pack members in the circle and had an idea of their personalities. Lydia was right up Ellen’s alley, who had come to rest after successfully winning the volleyball match against the twins with her husband. Marcus and Peter were taking turns discussing the merits of bestiaries and learning various languages to communicate throughout pack members. She noticed how Marcus, who she remembered was the second in command, dropped subtle hints about Stiles knowing Romanian and the way Peter perked up. 

“I know what now? And hi Talia, love the outfit.” Stiles fell into the chair beside Marcus and sprawled out, putting his left hand on Kali’s stomach and cooing softly. Ennis rolled his eyes, covering his smile with a yawn.

“So, you’re the spark my nephew is obsessed with.”

“We’ve already been introduced. You tried to sneak up on my pack and kill us, remember?”

Peter smiled pleasantly. “I wouldn’t go as far as _killing you_ , maybe just… scratching you up a bit.”

“Very reassuring.” 

“I thought so, too. I heard that you’re the emissary on top of being the leader of your coven. You must have extraordinary leadership skills to train all of them while staying on track with your own duties.”

Stiles eyed him. “It’s not that hard. And even if it was, I’d do anything I need to in order to keep my family safe.”

“Evidently.” 

“Do you know what the phrase ‘Protejez ceea ce este al meu pentru că fără ei nu există eu’ means?”

Peter leaned forward, his eyes showcasing his interest. “I protect what’s mine, because without them there is no me.”

“So you get it, then. If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I believe in that line with every fiber of my being. I’ll do anything to keep my loved ones safe, whether I have to kill or be killed.”

Talia frowned at the way his eyes hardened before remembering the… unfortunate demise of his previous mate. Her brother nodded.

“Atunci știi că simt la fel.” 

If Stiles was shocked, he didn’t show it. If anything he found it amusing, what with the snort he let out. “Of course you do.” His face brightened as Boyd and Derek came back from the grill with Austin, carrying plates of burgers, brats, chicken wings and hot dogs.

“Hey guys.” Derek greeted, placing the food on the fold up table. “How was the trip?”

“It was long, but that’s mostly due to the traffic. How was your stay? You hardly answered any of my questions when we talked on the phone.” Derek shrugged, his eyes finding Stiles as he avoided his mother’s knowing expression. His lips thinned when he realized they were speaking a different language, both of them on the edge of their seat and grinning madly.

“What are they talking about?” 

Talia smiled and shook her head. “I have no idea, but Peter’s having a blast.”

Stiles interrupted them, taking off his shirt while he spoke in rapid Romanian while Peter watched on with a spark in his eye Talia hadn’t seen in years. He was excited, she realized, in the way a child acts when the make a new friend.

“What the hell is he doing?” Derek growled as he took a step forward. 

Stiles noticed him from the corner of his eye and snickered, Peter catching on as well. 

“It’s working, I assume?” He smirked. Really, who was he to deny his nephew’s mate? And it was long past due since he teased Derek. If he got to see the scar some pixies left on Stiles, that was just research and extra notes to add to his bestiary. Especially since the mage was explaining how to take out the toxins from their claws. Of course, his dear nephew just saw his mate taking off his shirt and speaking a language he couldn’t decipher to his uncle, who was by no means lacking in the looks department, if he did say so himself.

“Of course it is! Look at his face, he’s totally brooding.” 

Peter snuck a glance and snickered his agreement. “So, show me the marks.”

“Right,” Turning, Stiles pointed to his lower back where there were five little pin prick scars. He crouched to get a closer look, confirming they were identical to the sketches in the book. 

“Why so close to the spine?”

“They were trying to paralyze us. They're a threat mainly because of their claws, they’re both really sharp and hold the toxins. The paralysis in them isn’t as strong as a kanima’s, but it fades off one limb at a time so it’s more bothersome. If they can’t spread it themselves they try to rip the spinal cord, or at least tear it so they have an easier time winning.”

Peter hummed, biting his lip in concentration as he lightly touched his pinky to one of the scars, comparing the size. “And how did you take the toxins out and preserve it?”

A hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to the smile on his wife’s face. “Peter dear, why don’t you tell us what you’re chatting about? And get off of the ground, you’re going to get your new shoes dirty.”

Stiles tugged on his shirt and gave her a grin. “Sorry about that, we just got ahead of ourselves, I suppose. I only know a couple people outside of my pack who know Romanian and I got excited.” He gave a sheepish shrug and bit his cheek to conceal the smirk that wanted to show itself, feeling his wolf’s eyes on the back of his head. 

“Of course,” She nodded her understanding. “What were you showing him, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“He was telling me how to preserve the paralysis toxins from pixie claws. Incredible, isn’t it?” Peter went on, explaining their motives when in a fight.

“Stiles. A word, please?” Holding in a smirk when Peter met his eye and winked, he turned around with the best innocent smile he could muster.

“Sure, lead the way.”

Staring at the leather clad back, he trailed behind with a skip in his step. Once they were a respectable distance away and inside the house, he sped up and poked him between the shoulders. “I told you I would get you back!” Stiles laughed. “Oh, man, that was great, couldn't work out better if I planned it. Who knew your uncle knows Romanian? You should’ve seen your face, dude, you looked like you were going to-”

Derek’s hand wrapped around the back of his neck and dragged his head closer, the other gripping his back in the same place that Peter had touched. His lips met his roughly, cutting him off and moving them against his forcefully. Once Stiles’ brain jump started itself, he let out a muffled moan and leaned in, gripping thick locks of hair and tugging it. Little grumbles were escaping the man in front of him and Stiles never found that attractive before, but boy if his cock didn’t twitch at that. Derek moved them so his back was braced against the wall and he pressed himself closer in retaliation. They had to part for air and Stiles leaned his forehead against Derek’s shoulder as he caught his breath, goosebumps breaking out on his skin as the wolf nuzzled his hair. His hands lingered near his ass, toying with the belt loops on the jeans he was wearing.

“...Were you really talking about pixies?” He mumbled.

Stiles snorted, pushing away from him as he nodded. “Yes, Derek. We were really talking about pixies. I was telling him how to preserve their toxins. No ulterior motives or underhanded gestures, I promise.”

Hazel eyes searched his own before dropping to his lips again. Shaking his head, he coughed. “Right. I’m going to go get a burger.”

“You do that.” He smiled back. 

Derek grunted as left, but not before Stiles saw the blush residing high on his cheeks. Rubbing his face, he made his way to the bathroom, jumping when Kate walked around the corner. 

“Classy. Really, I’m impressed. Why didn't you go down on him while I was here?” She tossed over her shoulder as she left.

“Shut up!” Stiles called after her. He couldn't keep the grin off his face though, and who could blame him? He was feeling happy, actually happy, for the first time in a long while. McKenna's tree swayed in the distance and he nodded back. He wouldn't be letting this one go, no way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kiss finally makes its appearance! This was a fun chapter to write so I hope you enjoyed it, too! We're reaching the end y'all! I used google translate for the Romanian, so I'm sorry if it's not accurate. The phrase Peter says translates to 'Then you know that I feel the same', just for clarification.


	23. Official and Separated

"So you're staying the night." 

Derek huffed a small laugh as he shook his head. The others had gone to get ready for bed and while he was tired, he didn't want to sleep without talking things through with Stiles to clarify what they were. They'd made a lot of progress throughout his time here and he was confident that they had crossed a line, what that line was, he didn't know.

"And then we leave tomorrow, yeah." He watched as the other leaned against his door, gnawing on his lip as he looked him over.

"Y'know," Stiles started slowly, a hint of hesitation showing itself on his face before he masked it. "There's a whole other pack in here now. Some people will probably have to share rooms. Because of the number. Of the people."

He held in a smirk and nodded back at him. "That's true."

"Yeah."

"I know that Erica and Boyd are sharing. Same with Lydia and Jackson and Allison and Scott. Everyone else is sorted out, but Peter and Beatrice are still looking, I think. I heard that they were thinking of staying in the living room."

Stiles scoffed. "That's ridiculous. They're our guests, they get a room."

"I'd have to give up my room. Then _I'd_ have to sleep in there."

"Well, we wouldn't want that now, would we?" 

Ellen groaned from behind them, Jason holding her hand as they headed towards their room. "Just take him to bed. My God, Stiles."

Stiles flushed and Derek couldn't stop the laughter that came out at the half embarrassed, half annoyed expression on his face. Stiles glared at him, going into his room and making a mental note to get back at his interfering friend.

"You're sleeping on the floor." He muttered when the older man followed after him, still chuckling. Derek nudged the door closed behind him and made his way towards the bed. Stiles was closing the blinds when he felt arms wrapping around him. He stiffened for a second before slowly relaxing, reminding himself that he was allowed to have this.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"I heard my mom say around eight. Deaton comes back tomorrow and she wants us to be settled down before he gets there."

"Your emissary, right?"

Derek nodded and released him when he started to turn.

"How good is he?"

"He doesn't like to talk and when he does, it's filled with riddles and clues only he understands. But he comes when we need him and he's saved us a few times."

Stiles huffed at the description and moved towards the bed, raising an eyebrow over his shoulder when Derek didn't follow.

"You're tired, right? I get the side by the door and the fan stays on, especially if we're sharing. You wolves run too hot for your own good. The night cools off for a reason, you know." He continued mumbling to himself as he pulled off his shirt, picking up a worn t-shirt from beside his bed. It was a couple sizes too big for him and he suspected it belonged to one of the twins from their last pack night. 

Derek stood at the end of the bed, frozen as he toed off his shoes. He knew subconsciously that there would be a chance he would see more of Stiles' skin, but he thought he would get a warning, or a cough, or _something_!

"You alright there, big guy?" Derek choked out a response as he turned around, kicking off his shoes while he lifted the blanket. There was a faint smell of lilacs and berries under the soap detergent and Stiles' own scent and his heart clenched as he realized who it must have belonged to. 

"I'm fine."

Stiles let him be and made his usual rounds around his room. Afterwards, he slid in beside Derek and stretched, groaning as his back popped.

"Stiles."

"Huh?"

He turned on his side to stare at the mage, hesitating a bit before he got his question out. "What are we?"

Letting out a slow breath, Stiles arranged himself so he was on his stomach, crossing his arms under his head and staring at him as he thought about it.

"Well, you kissed me."

"I did."

"And we've been on a date."

Derek paused. "Debatable, but go on."

"Derek, it was a date. Plus we've been living in the same house for about three weeks now. So I'd say that we're dating. If you're okay with that."

"Of course I am. As long as I can call you mine, I'm happy."

"Possessive much?" He snickered through a yawn. "So you're my boyfriend."

"Yeah." Derek grinned. "And you're mine."

"Damn, what am I going to tell the town? Poor Heather will be devastated."

"Who?"

"She's the daughter of the woman who owns the local greenhouse. Her mom sees me sometimes and always tries to hook me up with her."

Derek grunted and pulled him closer, relishing the fact that he could do that now, any time he wanted. "She'll be fine. And if not, it's not our problem."

"Agreed." Stiles got comfortable, turning on his side as he got used to the additional, nearly overbearing heat beside him. Derek sighed happily as he closed his eyes and rested his head on top of the mussed up hair of his mate. Soon, much sooner than he would like, he fell asleep wrapped around Stiles, lulled by the soft murmurs and his steady heartbeat.

It had been a couple hours since the Hales had left and to put it simply, Stiles was miserable. He hadn't considered how much he would miss Derek and it was coming back to bite him in the ass. Ethan was as bad as he was, going by the frequent sighs and longing gazes towards the woods in the backyard.

"Would you quit moping? He's only a call away, you know. Shoot him a text or something." Dallas suggested. 

Stiles stared at her, horrified that she even suggested that. Ethan, however, lit up and reached for his phone.

"No!" Stiles tackled him to the floor and reached for the phone. Ethan growled and before they knew it, they were taking turns pinning one another to the ground. 

"What's your problem!" Ethan snarled as he dodged a flailing elbow.

"You can't text first! We're stronger than that!"

"What are you talking about?" 

"You know those movies, where there's this heartbroken person and then they get all desperate and are calling and texting every minute of every day? We can't lower ourselves to those standards, Ethan, we're way better than that. They're going to text us first!"

Ethan stared at him, bemusement slowly morphing into hard understanding and defiance. "You're right."

"Dear God," Ellen sighed her exasperation from the couch. Austin snickered quietly and nudged her shoulder.

"You're right." 

Stiles nodded at him and together they made their way back to the couch. They didn't say anything else as Stiles passed him the remote, actively ignoring the entertained comments. They agreed on Law and Order and didn't notice when the others gradually left the room. The next hour was a hazy flurry of people checking on them and after they finished two seasons full of not so subtle glances at their phones and frustrated grumbles, Stiles snapped. 

"Honestly, who just kisses and ditches! Isn't that a rule? Don't kiss someone when you won't see them for who knows how long?"

Ethan couldn't nod his agreement fast enough, arranging himself so his legs were tucked underneath him and he was facing his emissary. 

"Right! At least you didn't have sex before then! What kind of aftercare is that? All I wanted was cuddles, man, was that too much to ask for?"

Stiles' heart dropped as his friend's pack bond flooded with angry grief. He threw his arms over Ethan's shoulders and hugged him tightly.

"How dare he! Oh, I'm so sorry Ethan, you deserve way better than that. I can't imagine what you're going through."

"Didn't you and Derek do anything other than kiss?"

"Dude, we just made ourselves official last night. The furthest we've gone was spooning and kissing."

"Must be nice." He grumbled.

"You know what, this is ridiculous. I'll just call Derek and ask to talk to Danny so I can-" His phone was ripped from his hands and he was met with Ethan's glare. 

"Weren't you the one saying that I can't talk to Danny? If I can't talk to him, you can't talk to Derek. A deal's a deal."

"But-"

"You guys are pathetic," Thomas laughed from the kitchen. "Why don't you just call? For all you know, they're waiting for you to make the first move."

"First moves have already been made. And verified." Ethan added as a second thought.

Thomas' nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Now, now, Thomas. Don't you think it's incredibly difficult being away from your mate?" There was an underlying warning that he picked up on right away, and mumbled his apology to the duo on the couch. Seeing as how he smirked when their alpha turned his back, Stiles didn't accept it. 

"Thanks pops."

"As for you two," Deucalion carried on as if Stiles hadn't spoken. "I may have a solution."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the delay guys. Life has really been kicking my ass the last couple weeks. I did finish this story though, and I'll update the last chapter and epilogue in the next couple days. If you see any errors don't be afraid to point them out to me and I'll fix them ASAP. Thank you for your patience and stay safe!


	24. All in a Day's Work

"For…" 

"For everyone to be happy, of course. Think about it. We have two pairs of mates and half of them are in the Hale pack." He sighed and shook his head fondly at their clueless faces. "I would be open to consider a… deal, if you will."

"Deal- you want to do a trade?" Ethan asked with a hint of hurt bitterness.

"It wouldn't be a trade, I could never give up one of my betas." Deucalion assured him. "But I don't want either of you to be uncomfortable. If I have to come to an agreement with Talia in order for you to be happy, I will."

Stiles nodded as he leaned forward, resting his head in his hand and tapping his knee with the other. "What else were you thinking? I need the details, especially since this involves not only our pack but Talia's, too. We don't want to step over any lines and create tensions over a passing thought."

His father smiled at him, pride encasing their bond and Stiles sniffed haughtily. "I _am_ still your emissary, y'know."

"I do know. Which is why you wouldn't be the one to move." He nodded at Ethan. "Your mate is also Talia's emissary in training, and I doubt she would let him move. You would have to be the one to go, and even then I would be doubtful. You're my beta and if something were to happen, I wouldn't have a way of knowing until afterwards."

"Dad, you met the Hales." Stiles protested. Sure, they were rough around the edges, but weren't they all? Ethan deserved to be happy, whether he was living with them or not.

"I'm not talking about them."

"That… is a good point. But they've kept a steady record for protecting their territory. Remember when that chimera tried to take over? He ran right into us and you said yourself that whoever the alpha was had a strong pack." Ethan reminded.

"Plus if everything works out, we could probably expand our own borders. Right now we stop a couple miles between our two towns, where that old bakery is. I know that there isn't a pack that's settled there right now. It'd be easy to take over."

"Talia might think that's what we wanted to begin with." Marcus cut in. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, disapproval radiating off of him. "Also, isn't it customary to include the second when discussing pack matters?"

Deucalion chuckled and offered an apology as he gestured to the chair beside his own. "You have my sincere apologies. Do you have anything to add?"

"I'm sure I have them," he rolled his eyes. "And yes, actually. I overheard Peter saying that area caught his eye, too. They might think we're trying to sell them short by using our betas."

"That could be problematic." 

"Right."

Stiles played with his hoodie string as he thought of a solution. If they really were looking into claiming the land, it would be dead center between the two towns. Sure, Talia could send out a couple of her betas to move into an apartment or something, but he knew for a fact that his dad would be on edge, his instincts telling him that they were coming too close for comfort. On the other hand, if they took over it would seem the same way to the Hales. It wasn't a secret that their pack was stronger than Talia's and that would most likely make them more of a threat. So really, either way nobody would win.

"Hold up," Stiles started, interrupting the ongoing conversation. He continued once all of the attention was on him. "I have an idea. Dad, where's that map? The aerial one."

His dad got up and retrieved a copy of the map from his office, setting it onto the coffee table in front of him. Stiles unfolded it and smoothed out the creases as he studied it. Just as he opened his mouth to ask for something to write with, Marcus tossed a pen towards him. He outlined both of their territories and circled the land that was currently unclaimed. The edges of the circle overlapped both of the borders and he tapped the middle of it twice.

"It won't matter who ends up claiming it. There would be way too much tension between us and that's the last thing we want. You see how the sides are connected to both Beacon Hills and Willowsville? If we were to send one person from each pack to live together, it could work."

"Who's going to go? We have Danny, Derek, and you guys. That's good and all, but it complicates the situation even more because of the positions you hold." Marcus advised. 

Ethan nodded his acknowledgement. "But we already knew that. You already said that I would be the one who has to move since Danny's still in training." 

"That would mean giving up one of my best betas," Deucalion frowned. "If there ever was a threat, we'd be at a disadvantage."

"That's where my idea comes in. Now quit looking like you're sending him to a death sentence and listen, dammit."

Marcus snorted and nudged Deucalion's shoulder with a mutter of 'He's your son'. 

"Thank you. Now, you're right that we would be a person down if Ethan goes. Which I'm pretty sure he will. But if we get someone in return, it would even out the playing field."

"And you're thinking of Derek." Ethan caught on.

"It works." He shrugged a shoulder. "You would be going to be with Danny. Derek's my mate and I can't go because we already said I'm the emissary. One of our best betas moves over there and Talia's only son will come here."

"I doubt she'll want him that far from her. They've always been close, but after the fire they grew more protective, too." Marcus said thoughtfully.

"Which is why we'll get an apartment or house in the unclaimed territory. It'll be a good compromise for everyone. I'll still be close to home in case anything happens, Derek will join us while Ethan joins them, and both our pack and Talia's will have a say in what happens to the land since we'll be sharing it."

There were a couple minutes spent in silence as they all considered it. Stiles ran through the plan again and couldn't find any loose ends. Sure, Talia and his dad would be losing a beta, but they would all be in the same place and it was the closest to a perfect compromise he could get.

"I think it's a good idea. I'll be able to be with Danny. And I like the Hales, they're fun to be around and I made a couple close friends within their pack."

"This is a big deal though. I don't think I've ever heard of packs doing anything like this."

"When did that stop us before? They never heard of a wolf and mage having a hybrid kid, but here I am. And I like to think I'm invaluable."

"Of course you are," Deucalion grumbled. He shared a glance with Marcus and Stiles felt like he missed out on a whole conversation, with the way his dad sighed and deflated. "I'll call Talia, but don't get your hopes up."

Stiles grinned and turned to high five Ethan. "'Course we won't, who do you think we are?"

The returning look he got answered the question tenfold.

Derek was fed up. He'd been upset all throughout the day, what with missing Stiles and getting back to his usual routine, which consisted of coming up with blueprints for his clients and avoiding Peter. Of course, his mother's pondering glances at him didn't help anything.

He set his fork down with a dull thud, staring at her with a grimace. "What's up with you today? The other's should be back soon if that's what you're worried about. You know how they get with the flea market."

She shook her head and sighed. "It's not that. It's just… you really liked them, didn't you?"

"Who?"

"Stiles and his pack."

He shifted in his chair, sinking into it in the progress. "I- yeah, they were… good. Thomas is annoying but tolerable and Charles kind of scares me, but everyone else is fine."

She smiled at him, albeit sadly, and his concern only increased. "I guess that decides it, then. I already talked to Danny and he couldn't agree fast enough."

"Agree to what?"

"Deucalion and Stiles came up with a plan so you could be with your mate and Ethan with his."

Derek perked up and leaned forwards so his hands were rested on the table. "Tell me."

"Ethan would be moving in with us and you would be living with Stiles between both of our counties. Which would mean I wouldn't be your alpha anymore."

"What do you mean? I can't just switch loyalties like that."

"It's not common, but as long as both pack alpha's consent along with the beta in question, it's fine."

Talia let him process it as she took her plate to the sink and took her time washing it as she thought about life without her son. It would be difficult, incredibly so, but she knew it was the right thing to do. He was already living independently even though he came over often, and she knew the house he was renting was coming to the end of its lease. 

"Danny said he was okay with it?" She craned her head back, giving him a nod. 

"He did."

"And Deucalion's okay with it?"

"As much as an alpha losing a beta can be, yes."

"Okay," he murmured. Shaking his head, he looked up at her and she smiled at the fierce resolve. "Okay. I'll do it. I don't want to be away from Stiles anymore than I have to be. But you better not mess with my room, because I'll be coming over a lot."

"Of course I won't. And don't you forget about us, either. You have a phone. Remember to use it."

Derek smirked. "Right."

Drying her hands, she made her way back to the table and picked her phone up. Dropping a kiss to the top of his head, she dialed Deucalion's number and put it on speaker while she pulled out a chair next to him. "Let's tell them, then. I'm sure Stiles is eager to hear your response."

"Right."

Stiles hugged Ethan one last time, mumbling half hearted threats about calling and visiting them often while Aiden scowled in the corner. Everyone had taken it as expected. Aiden, Brooke, Ellen, and Kate were less than pleased while the majority of the others were happy that he would be happy. A fight had nearly broken out when Aiden demanded he stay, but Brooke managed to calm him so they could talk rationally. 

"I'm gonna miss you guys too," He laughed. "Of course I'll stop by. Maybe I'll drag some of the Hales with me."

Ellen grimaced. "Please don't. I need to mentally prepare myself before that happens again."

"Please, we all know you became buddy buddy with Jackson." Kali said with a smirk. Ennis had a content grin on his face, his hand resting on her stomach and feeling the occasional kicks from their baby.

"That's different!"

"Sure."

"When are they coming?" Jason asked as he soothed his perturbed wife. 

"Talia said they were on our street already, be patient."

Stiles grinned and bounced on his feet as he saw the two cars pull up. The first one was being driven by Derek and Danny while the latter held Talia and Peter. Ethan flew by him, yanking the door open to stand impatiently in the front yard. Stiles laughed and chased after him. He nearly tackled him out of muscle memory but managed to catch himself in time so he just pushed his friend forward a couple steps.

"Stiles!" He grinned at his tone and shrugged, his excitement mixing in with Marley's. He let him out with abandon and watched his little frame run to the parked cars. He began to paw at Derek's door and only let him have a second to collect himself before jumping him. 

"Hey Marley." Derek smiled down at him, scratching behind his ears fondly and chuckling when he began to purr. Danny let him sniff his hand and frowned slightly when the fox sniffed and cuddled further into Derek's arms. 

"Danny!" Ethan yelled with a beam. Danny dimpled back at him and Stiles would have watched their reunion, really, if it weren't for the way Derek was eyeing him while he closed the distance. Honestly, no man had the right to look like _that_ when they were just walking. Although, Stiles noted with a pleased smile, he seemed to be swaying his hips more than necessary. 

"Stiles." He murmured as he came to a stop in front of him. 

"Derek!" He gave him a quick hug and peck then grabbed his hand, squeezing it as he dragged him towards the house. "C'mon! I have fifteen houses I want you to look at. How do you feel about pools?"

Derek laughed at his eagerness and followed him without complaint, leaving his mother and Peter to talk to Deucalion and Marcus. Stepping into the house with Stiles beside him, hand fitted comfortably in his, felt like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue will be posted soon! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	25. Epilogue: McKenna James

Derek groaned as the insistent ringing registered through his sleep muddled brain. After wiping his eyes with the hand that wasn't under Stiles' head, he reached for his phone. Of course, just as he picked it up the ringtone cut short and not even a minute later, Stiles' phone was nearly vibrating off of his side table. Stiles woke up with a curse and scanned the room for the threat when his eyes landed on his phone. Tension settled in his shoulders and he picked it up with a frown. 

"What?" Whatever it was, Derek assumed they wouldn't be going back to bed. Stiles' eyes had widened and the sudden spike of nerves in his scent had Derek worried before he tuned in on the caller. 

"-almost out, so get your ass down here, Stiles! Kali's gonna be pissed if you aren't!" Stiles hung up and stared at him, mouthing silently as he tried to collect his thoughts. Finally, he jumped out of the bed with wild eyes and headed to the closet, ripping out a pair of sweats and one of Derek's shirts. 

"Derek! Kali's in labor! Oh, God, I'm going to be an uncle! There's going to be a baby in our pack! _Derek_!"

With a wide grin, he joined his mate at the closet and grabbed some pants. After yanking them on, he grabbed his keys from the dresser and held the door open. "Let's go, my car's faster than the jeep."

"Yeah, right. Fuck, do we bring anything?" 

Derek chuckled as Stiles spun around frantically. "I'm pretty sure all we need to bring is ourselves. C'mon, hurry up before they come get us themselves."

"Okay. Yeah, let's do that." Derek's arm was a comforting weight over his shoulders as he led him to the garage. The trip to the hospital included Stiles' mood swings that alternated from excited to anxious to scared, Derek's comments and teasing grins, and a few ignored red lights. Stiles very nearly had a panic attack in the elevator and was out of it before the doors could open fully. Derek, who was on his heels, managed to pull Stiles out of the way before he got hit by a passing food cart. 

The receptionist looked a little concerned when he saw the way they were rushing for him, but managed a smile all the same. Stiles didn't give him the chance to greet them, practically yelling the words in his haste.

He slapped his hands on the counter and leaned forward. "Kali and Ennis, what room are they in?"

"Uh, they're in 274 but you need a-"

"I'm their family!" Stiles grabbed a hold of his jacket and ran, dragging him with him. Derek would've been embarrassed but he had grown used to being towed around at different intervals throughout the month he had been living with Stiles. A new plant for the living room? Hands on his shoulders and turning him to the right. The softest blanket Stiles had ever felt? Suddenly pushed into his chest until he grabbed it and agreed that yes, it was soft Stiles. The point was, he was used to his mate's antics by now. 

Stiles hesitated at the door and turned to him. Soft chatter was coming from inside and Derek raised an eyebrow at him. "Well? Don't you want to see your new niece or nephew?"

With a deep breath, Stiles pushed open the door and greeted his pack half heartedly, completely focused on the bundle cradled in her mother's arms. Kali was grinning as she talked to Kate and Dallas while Ennis was standing at her bedside, staring down at them with awe and tear stained cheeks. 

"Stiles, it's about time you showed up." His dad mumbled with a tired smile. Stiles huffed and moved closer to Kali while Derek joined Thomas and Aiden on the small couch. 

Kali looked up at him and reached for the corner of the tan blanket, pulling it down slightly to reveal a sliver of a pink onesie. "It's a girl."

"Ohmygod," He breathed. "She's precious. What's her name?" Stiles sat on the end of the bed and held out a finger to the baby, choking up when she grasped his finger in the hand that wasn't holding Kali's hospital gown. Ennis and Kali shared a look and Stiles gazed at them, confused with the delay. Did they not decide yet? Because damn, he would decide for them. Their baby was too adorable not to have one, what with her black tufts of hair and chubby cheeks.

"We were talking about it a lot, and we came up with one that means a lot to us. To everyone in the pack, actually."

Stiles frowned, waving for them to get on with it. Ennis sighed and flushed slightly, looking down at Kali imploringly. With an amused eye roll, she smiled at him.

"We're going to name her McKenna James. If it's okay with you. She was a huge part of our lives and one of my best friends, not to mention how strong she was."

Stiles stared. And stared. Derek came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, supporting him beyond what words could say at the moment. Then he made sense of the words. His heart filled with warmth and as the blood rushed in his ears and his vision grew blurry, he could only nod and lean into Derek's touch. Swallowing down a few breathless sobs, he wiped his eyes.

"Of course you can. She would be honored." He gazed down at the baby with a new appreciation and gently stroked her cheek. His pack watched him fondly and he smiled down at his niece, God, he had a _niece_. He was going to spoil her like crazy and from the looks of it, so was Derek. He would die before something happened to her, and now that he had something, some _one_ , to live for again, that wouldn't be happening for a long, long time.

"Welcome to the world, McKenna James."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it, y'all! Thank you to everyone who was a part of this hectic journey and I'm so grateful to have had a part in finishing the author's idea! This has been super fun to write and I hope it was fun for you guys to read, too!


End file.
